Abstract
Invasive plants’ phytochemicals are important for their invasiveness, enabling them to spread in new environments. However, these chemicals could offer many pharmaceutical compounds or active ingredients for herbal preparations. This study provides the first LC–MS phytochemical screening of six invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in the Istria region (Croatia): Ailanthus altissima, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Conyza canadensis, Dittrichia viscosa, Erigeron annuus, and Xanthium strumarium. The study aims to identify and quantify the phenolic content of their leaf extracts and assess their antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential. A total of 32 species-specific compounds were recorded. Neochlorogenic, chlorogenic, and 5-p-coumaroylquinic acids, quercetin-3-glucoside, and kaempferol hexoside were detected in all the tested IAPS. Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were the main components in all the tested IAPS, except in E. annuus, where flavanones dominated with a share of 70%. X. strumarium extract had the best activity against the tested bacteria, with an average MIC value of 0.11 mg/mL, while A. altissima and X. strumarium extracts had the best activity against the tested fungi, with an average MIC value of 0.21 mg/mL in both cases. All the plant extracts studied, except X. strumarium, were less cytotoxic than the positive control. The results provided additional information on the phytochemical properties of IAPS and their potential for use as antimicrobial agents.
Highlights
Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) impacts are unpredictable, they all have mechanisms that contribute to their invasiveness
We identified and quantified phenolics in leaves of six invasive alien plant species (IAPS) from the territory of Istria (Croatia) for the first time and tested the antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities of their extracts as a basis for new possible ecosystem services
When we used acetone as an extractant, we obtained the highest yield from A. artemisiifolia (101 mg/g), followed by E. annuus (66 mg/g), D. viscosa (63 mg/g), X. strumarium (57 mg/g), C. canadensis (47 mg/g), and A. altissima with the lowest extraction yield of 42 mg/g (Tables 2 and 3)
Summary
Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) impacts are unpredictable, they all have mechanisms that contribute to their invasiveness. They often include direct competition, indirect competition mediated by herbivores or changes in the soil community, and interference competition via allelopathy [1]. Previous comparative metabolomics studies on invasive species showed that successful invasive alien plants have more total and more unique metabolites than native ones [3]. Phytochemical uniqueness appeared to be very important in the invasion ability of alien plants [4,5,6]. Phytochemicals from alien invasive species may be a leading cause of environmentally harmful effects
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