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Monoterpenes from the essential oil from Brazilian propolis affect seedling cellular elongation

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Abstract

Propolis is a complex mixture of beeswax, resinous and volatile substances produced by honeybees with material collected from plant exudates. The essential oil obtained from a propolis samples from southern Brazil was extracted by hydro-distillation. The yield of oil is high (8.5%), and its major constituents are the monoterpenes α-pinene (86%), β-pinene (12%) and camphene (1%). At 1% concentration, the oil inhibited the germination of lettuce seeds. At 0.25%, the growth speed index and the growth of the hypocotyl–radicle axis reduced substantially. The oil at 0.5% inhibited the elongation of procambial cells and shifted the elongation of the ground meristem cells axially to radially. Hence, the elongation zone assumed a stratified arrangement. In radicles from seeds treated with oil at 1%, a radially directed cell elongation took place in the root cap, protoderm and procambium, preventing the root to protrude. Intercellular spaces appeared between layers of cells of the ground meristem. The anatomical changes observed might be an effect of monoterpenes, either promoting the production of ethylene or affecting the sensitivity of meristem cells to this regulator.

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Acknowledgements

AS and MLFS are fellow researchers of CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil). The authors thank Aline Bertinatto Cruz for assistance in chemical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Sciences Course, University of Santo Amaro, Rua Professor Eneas de Siqueira Neto, 340, São Paulo, SP, 04829-900, Brazil

    Marco A. S. Mayworm

  2. Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil

    Alex B. dos Santos, Gladys F. A. Melo-de-Pinna, Antonio Salatino, Maria L.F. Salatino & Diego Demarco

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  1. Marco A. S. Mayworm
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  2. Alex B. dos Santos
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  3. Gladys F. A. Melo-de-Pinna
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  4. Antonio Salatino
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  5. Maria L.F. Salatino
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  6. Diego Demarco
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Correspondence to Antonio Salatino.

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Mayworm, M.A.S., dos Santos, A.B., Melo-de-Pinna, G.F.A. et al. Monoterpenes from the essential oil from Brazilian propolis affect seedling cellular elongation. Braz. J. Bot 40, 609–615 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0366-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0366-3

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