Main Alkaloids of Peganum harmala L. and Their Different Effects on Dicot and Monocot Crops

Molecules

Hua Shao¹  Xiaoli Huang¹  Yuanming Zhang¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; E-Mails:

关键词: phytotoxin;    allelopathic;    alkaloids;    Peganum harmala L.;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules18032623

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Alkaloids with allelopathic activity are not as well-known as other allelochemicals. Our study revealed that total alkaloids from seeds of the medicinal plant Peganum harmala L. possessed significant growth inhibitory effect on four treated plants, with dicot plants (lettuce and amaranth) being more sensitive than the tested monocot plants (wheat and ryegrass). Further investigation led to the isolation of harmaline and harmine as the main active ingredients in the total alkaloids of P. harmala seeds. Harmaline exerted potent inhibitory effects on seedling growth of treated plants, especially dicots, inhibiting root elongation of lettuce and amaranth by 31% and 47% at a very low concentration (5 µg/mL), whereas harmine exhibited much weaker non-selective inhibitory effect on the plants. Considering the high yield and poor utilization of P. harmala in China, we anticipate that this plant could be exploited as an alternative weed management tool in the future.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.