Allelochemical Activity of Eugenol-Derived Coumarins on Lactuca sativa L.

Abstract

Coumarins are widely distributed substances in plant species that promote phytotoxic effects, allowing them to be exploited as herbicides less harmful to the environment, since many invasive species have demonstrated resistance to commercially available products. The derived coumarins used in this study had not been tested in plant models and their effect on plants was unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phytotoxic action of these coumarins in bioassays with Lactuca sativa L., in order to select the most responsive substance whose toxicity was best elucidated by chromosomal complement and enzymatic antioxidant metabolism studies. From the phytotoxicity assays, coumarin 8-methoxy-2-oxo-6-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-2H-chromene-3-carboxylic acid (A1), reported here for the first time, was selected as the most responsive and caused a reduction in the following parameters: number of normal seedlings, fresh biomass, root length and shoot length. Subsequent studies demonstrated that this coumarin is cytogenotoxic due to damage caused to the cell cycle and the occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities. However, it did not interfere with antioxidant enzyme activity and did not cause lipid peroxidation. The changes caused by coumarin A1 described herein can contribute to better understanding the allelochemical actions of coumarins and the potential use of these substances in the production of natural herbicides.

Phytotoxic Potential and Phenolic Profile of Extracts from Scrophularia striata

“…In a relevant study, the phytotoxic action of eugenol was examined on Lactuca sativa L., and the results showed a reduction in the number of normal plantlets, fresh weight, radix, and stem length, which might be due to the inhibitory effects on the cell cycle and the occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities [ 56 ]. Rosmarinic acid induced alterations in plasma membrane permeability in Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin [ 57 ].…”

Effects of Piper betle L. Extract and Allelochemical Eugenol on Rice and Associated Weeds Germination and Seedling Growth

“…They are phenolic compounds where the molecular structure is composed of a phenol bonding with an allyl group. The functional groups’ substitution at the benzene ring represents the phytotoxicity of the compounds [ 20 ]. Isoeugenol, the major constituents in rhizome and root exudate of cogongrass ( Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.…”

“…Furthermore, eugenol-synthesized derivatives caused root system defects together with chromosomal abnormality in the root tips of lettuce ( Lactuca. sativa L.) seedlings [ 20 ].…”

Determining the effect of soil properties on the stability of scopoletin and its toxicity to target plants

“…Coumarins represent an important group of plant allelochemicals of the polyphenol class (Niro et al 2016;Real et al 2019). They are widely distributed in the Apiaceae, Rutaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae families of plants, and there have been many reports on the herbicidal, fungicidal, insecticidal, antibacterial, and nematicidal activity of different coumarins (Razavi 2011;Govea et al 2020). Pan et al (2015) screened several coumarins for phytotoxicity and studied the structure-activity relationship.…”