Phytotoxic Potential and Biological Activity of Three Synthetic Coumarin Derivatives as New Natural-Like Herbicides

Molecules

Fabrizio Araniti⁴  Raffaella Mancuso²  Antonio Lupini⁴  Salvatore V. Giofrè¹  Francesco Sunseri⁴  Bartolo Gabriele²  Maria Rosa Abenavoli⁴  Pascal Richomme³ 

[1] Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco e dei Prodotti per la Salute, Università di Messina, Via SS Annunziata, Messina 98168, Italy; E-Mail:;Laboratory of Industrial and Synthetic Organic Chemistry (LISOC), Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università della Calabria, Via P. Bucci 12/C, Arcavacata di Rende (Cosenza) 87036, Italy; E-Mail:Dipartimento AGRARIA, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria 89124, Italy;;Dipartimento AGRARIA, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria 89124, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: Arabidopsis thaliana;    Amaranthus retroflexus;    Echinochloa crus-galli;    germination;    root morphology;    phytotoxicity;    natural-like herbicides;    coumarins;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules201017883

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Coumarin is a natural compound well known for its phytotoxic potential. In the search for new herbicidal compounds to manage weeds, three synthetic derivatives bearing the coumarin scaffold (1–3), synthesized by a carbonylative organometallic approach, were in vitro assayed on germination and root growth of two noxious weeds, Amaranthus retroflexus and Echinochloa crus-galli. Moreover, the synthetic coumarins 1–3 were also in vitro assayed on seedlings growth of the model species Arabidopsis thaliana to identify the possible physiological targets. All molecules strongly affected seed germination and root growth of both weeds. Interestingly, the effects of synthetic coumarins on weed germination were higher than template natural coumarin, pointing out ED₅₀ values ranging from 50–115 µM. Moreover, all synthetic coumarins showed a strong phytotoxic potential on both Arabidopsis shoot and root growth, causing a strong reduction in shoot fresh weight (ED₅₀ values ≤ 60 µM), accompanied by leaf development and a decrease in pigment content. Furthermore, they caused a strong alteration in root growth (ED₅₀ values ≤ 170 µM) and morphology with evident alterations in root tip anatomy. Taken together, our results highlight the promising potential herbicidal activity of these compounds.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.