Chemical Constituents of Dysphania botrys (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants Essential Oil: Herbicidal and Antimicrobial Activities

Abstract

Dysphania botrys (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants, belonging to the Amaranthaceae family, is a plant species commonly found in Asian and Mediterranean regions. Furthermore, the herb has significant medical value (antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and so on). In the present study, chemical compounds of essential oil of D. botrys collected from Central Anatolia (Kayseri province) of Türkiye were investigated and thirty components were identified in the oil by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). β-elemene (27.56%), elemol (18.00%), selina-3,7(11)-diene (6.74%), β-eudesmol (5.87%), α-eudesmol (4.48%), (-)-isolongifolol acetate (3.56%), and β-selinene (3.12%) were determined as the main components. The Kirby-Baurer disc diffusion technique was used to evaluate the oil's antibacterial effects against six distinct bacterial strains. The results showed that the most inhibitory effect was observed on S. aureus (13 mm) and this was followed by B. cereus (10 mm)> E. faecalis = P. aeruginosa (8 mm) > A. baumannii = Y. enterocolitica (7 mm). It was established that the oil significantly inhibited the growth of the tested bacterial strains. In vitro allelopathic effects of the oil at different doses (1.0-8.0 μl/ml) were researched on Lepidium sativum and Triticum aestivum. In both tested plants, the oil at 4.0 and 8.0 μl/ml doses significantly inhibited the germination, root, and shoot elongation and decreased total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. This is also the first study on the phytotoxic activity of D. botrys’ essential oil.