Abstract
The potential of utilizing Onopordum acanthium essential oil and its major constituents as environment friendly herbicides was investigated. In total 29, 25, and 18 compounds were identified from flower, leaf, and stem oils, representing 94.77%, 80.02%, and 90.74% of the total oil, respectively. Flower and stem oils were found to be rich in n-alkanes, which accounted for 57.33% in flower oil, and 82.33% in stem oil. Flower oil exerted potent inhibitory activity on both receiver species, Amaranthus retroflexus and Poa annua, which nearly completely suppressed seed germination at 5 mg/mL, and β-eudesmol is the most likely responsible compound for its phytotoxicity; in comparison, leaf and stem oils exhibited much weaker inhibitory activity on A. retroflexus, and stimulatory effect on P. annua when tested concentration was below 2.5 mg/mL. Alkanes in the oils were found to exert relatively weak plant growth regulatory activity. This report is the first on the chemical profile and phytotoxic action of O. acanthium oil as well as the phytotoxicity of β-eudesmol.
Highlights
Chemical constituents of O. acanthium essential oils extracted from different plant organs
Essential oils were extracted from fresh flowers, leaves, and stems of O. acanthium using hydrodistillation method
The phytotoxic activity of β-eudesmol was further evaluated, and the results showed that it possessed the same biological activity comparable to the flower oil (Tables 6, 7; Fig. 5)
Summary
Aboveground plant parts of O. acanthium were harvested in Changji city, Xinjiang province, China, in July 2018 (N43°98′53′′, E86°46′22′′). Plant materials were separated into flowers, leaves, and stems for further process. Essential oils were obtained by performing traditional boiling hydrodistillation procedure. Leaves, and stems of O. acanthium (200 g were used for each plant organ) were laid out in the flask containing water and the unit is carried to boiling for 4 h. The mixture of water–oil was produced in the flask condensed in the condenser, where the oils were harvested. The same procedure was repeated until enough oils were obtained for GC/MS analysis and the phytotoxic activity assay. The essential oils were dried over anhydrous N a2SO4 and stored at 4 °C for the following GC/MS analysis and bioassay experiments
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