Isolation and identification of allelochemicals and their activities and functions

Abstract

Allelopathy is the interaction between donor plants and receiver plants through allelochemicals. According to a great number of publications, allelopathy may be involved in several ecological aspects such as the formation of monospecific stands and sparse understory vegetation for certain plant species. Allelopathy also contributes to the naturalization of invasive plant species in introduced ranges. Autotoxicity is a particular type of allelopathy involving certain compounds. Many medicinal plants have been reported to show relatively high allelopathic activity. We selected plant species that show high allelopathic activity and isolated allelochemicals through the bioassay-guided purification process. More than 100 allelochemicals, including novel compounds have been identified in some medicinal and invasive plants, plants forming monospecific stands, plants with sparse understory vegetation, and plants showing autotoxicity. The allelopathic activity of benzoxazinones and related compounds was also determined.

Allelopathic Activity of a Novel Compound and Two Known Sesquiterpene from Croton oblongifolius Roxb.

“…Many researchers have recently reported that the growth of test plant species, including weeds, was inhibited by the phytotoxic substances found in medicinal plants [24][25][26]. Kato-Noguchi (2023) [27] reported that many medicinal plants are highly allelopathic and have yielded over 100 allelochemicals, including novel compounds that exhibit different levels of biological activities and functions. These findings showed that medicinal plants contain different kinds of phytotoxic substances that could exert allelopathic activity, and these plants are probable candidates that could be used to isolate and identify potent allelopathic substances that can be used as bioherbicides for sustainable weed management.…”