Abstract
According to the World Health Organization, the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides should be avoided in the cultivation of medicinal plants due to their potential antagonistic actions. Brugmansia spp. is a perennial bush native to South America, but it is also cultivated in Europe, Central America, and Asia due to its ornamental characteristics. Aerial parts of this plant are used in ethnomedicine to alleviate ulcers and pain, as well as to treat abscesses, fungal infection of the skin, and dermatitis. Tropane alkaloids scopolamine and atropine are recognized as active principles of this plant. This study evaluated the applicability of organic agricultural techniques in the cultivation of Brugmansia suaveolens. The influence of different dosages (0-60 tons/ha) of organic fertilizer on the mass productivity of plant shoot as well as their atropine and scopolamine contents were investigated. The average dry matter of leaves (26.54±5.12-55.41±12.85 g) and stems (26.73±8.51-58.60±17.62 g) per plant increased with increasingly availability of organic fertilizer (0-60 ton/ha). The same behavior was observed when the contents of the active tropane alkaloids scopolamine (0.72±0.03-0.86±0.13 mg/g) and atropine (0.79±0.03-0.96±0.11 mg/g) were monitored by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer. Overall, the treatment at the maximum level tested in this work (60 ton/ha) should be preferred over the other treatments. B. suaveolens could be a potential source of tropane alkaloids for the community of Botucatu city, which is a leading city in Brazil for the cultivation of food products under organic, biodynamic, and agroecology premises.
Highlights
Brugmansia suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd) Doce (Solanaceae) is a large perennial bush with woody stems, often heavily branched and can grow as tall as 5 meters
The plant material was obtained from cuttings of young shoots of vigorous plants cultivated at the Lageado Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, São Paulo State University (FCA/UNESP) in the city of Botucatu, State of São Paulo, Brazil. These plants were identified as Brugmansia suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd) Doce and a voucher specimen is deposited in the Botanical Garden of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), under number 33186
This work revealed that the organic fertilizer treatment at maximum level tested in this work (60 ton/ha) is preferred over the other treatments
Summary
Brugmansia suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd) Doce (Solanaceae) is a large perennial bush with woody stems, often heavily branched and can grow as tall as 5 meters. The fruits, which form only very rarely, are short and spindle-shaped with an irregularly gibbous surface and contain large (approximately 1 cm) light brown seeds (Rätsch, 1997) This specie is native in tropical South America but is cultivated in Europe, Central America, and Asia, due to its ornamental characteristics (Lorenzi & Souza, 2008). Infusions of B. suaveolens leaves are used in ethnomedicine to alleviate ulcers and pain and to threat abscesses, fungal infection of the skin, and dermatitis (Parker et al, 2007; Revilla, 2002) This plant is used in South America as an entheogen in religious rituals due to the presence of psychoactive tropane alkaloids, mainly scopolamine and atropine (Revilla, 2002). The influence of different dosages of organic fertilizer on the mass productivity of the aerial parts of plants as well as on their atropine and scopolamine contents was investigated
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