Abstract
Sophora alopecuroides is known to produce relatively large amounts of alkaloids; however, their ecological consequences remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the allelopathic potential of the main alkaloids, including aloperine, matrine, oxymatrine, oxysophocarpine, sophocarpine, sophoridine, as well as their mixture both in distilled H2O and in the soil matrix. Our results revealed that all the alkaloids possessed inhibitory activity on four receiver species, i.e., Amaranthus retroflexus, Medicago sativa, Lolium perenne and Setaria viridis. The strength of the phytotoxicity of the alkaloids was in the following order: sophocarpine > aloperine > mixture > sophoridine > matrine > oxysophocarpine > oxymatrine (in Petri dish assays), and matrine > mixture > sophocarpine > oxymatrine > oxysophocarpine > sophoridine > aloperine (in pot experiments). In addition, the mixture of the alkaloids was found to significantly increase the IAA content, MDA content and POD activity of M. sativa seedlings, whereas CTK content, ABA content, SOD activity and CAT activity of M. sativa seedlings decreased markedly. Our results suggest S. alopecuroides might produce allelopathic alkaloids to improve its competitiveness and thus facilitate the establishment of its dominance; the potential value of these alkaloids as environmentally friendly herbicides is also discussed.
Highlights
The genus Sophora (Leguminosae) comprises more than 70 small tree and shrub species that are widely distributed in the tropical and temperate regions of the two hemispheres [1].Among them, Sophora alopecuroides L., a perennial herb or subshrub, mainly grows in western and central Asia
The current study focuses on the allelopathic potential of alkaloids produced by S
Amaranthus retroflexus and Medicago sativa, as well as two monocot plants, Lolium perenne and Setaria viridis, were selected as receiver species for this study. They were chosen for the following reasons: firstly, they can be found growing in the same habitats as S. alopecuroides; secondly, these four species have previously been used as receiver plants in allelopathic research because of their uniform seedling emergence, high germination rate and their significance in both agricultural and natural fields [3,5,6]
Summary
The genus Sophora (Leguminosae) comprises more than 70 small tree and shrub species that are widely distributed in the tropical and temperate regions of the two hemispheres [1].Among them, Sophora alopecuroides L., a perennial herb or subshrub, mainly grows in western and central Asia. In China, S. alopecuroides (known as Kudouzi) thrives in the arid areas of northwest China as a dominant species [2,3]. Phytochemical studies of S. alopecuroides have led to the isolation of different types of chemical ingredients such as alkaloids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, organic acids, proteins, steroids and so on [5]. Among these compounds, quinolizidine alkaloids were reported to possess the best bioactivity and have been developed into new drugs for a wide range of pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis, anti-virus and anti-arrhythmic activities [1,2]
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