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Abstract
BackgroundThere is an urgent need to explore and utilize naturally occurring products for combating harmful agricultural and public health pests. Secondary metabolites in the leaves of the Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima L. have been reported to be herbicidal and insecticidal. The mode of action, however, of the active compounds in A. altissima are not understood. In this paper, we report the chemical characteristics of the herbicidal and insecticidal components in this tree, and will discuss the effect of light on the bioactivity of the active components.ResultsExtracts from the fresh leaves of A. altissima showed a strong plant germination/growth inhibitory effect in laboratory bioassays against alfalfa (Medicago sativa). The effect was dose-dependent. The growth inhibitory components were in the methylene chloride soluble fraction of the extract. The effect was greater in the light than in the dark. Other fractions had plant growth enhancing effect at lower concentrations. The extract was slightly insecticidal against yellow fever mosquito larvae (Aedes aegypti).ConclusionsThe extract or its semi-purified fractions of A. altissima were strong plant growth inhibitors, therefore good candidates as potential environmentally safe and effective agricultural pest management agents. The finding that light affects the activity will be useful in the application of such natural products.
Highlights
There is an urgent need to explore and utilize naturally occurring products for combating harmful agricultural and public health pests
Plants have been under a continuous selection pressure from predators and numerous environmental factors. Due to their lack of mobility, plants must rely on both physical and chemical defense mechanisms such as producing various toxic metabolites to survive the predatory attacks of other organisms such as insects, bacteria, and fungi, and to adequately compete with other plant species for light and nutritional resources
The primary goal of this project is to reconfirm the observation of the growth inhibitory effect of A. altissima under controlled laboratory conditions, and to study the characteristics and the effect of light on the herbicidal and insecticidal activities of the extract
Summary
There is an urgent need to explore and utilize naturally occurring products for combating harmful agricultural and public health pests. Plants have been under a continuous selection pressure from predators and numerous environmental factors Due to their lack of mobility, plants must rely on both physical and chemical defense mechanisms such as producing various toxic metabolites to survive the predatory attacks of other organisms such as insects, bacteria, and fungi, and to adequately compete with other plant species for light and nutritional resources. The defense chemicals or secondary metabolites of plants can serve several types of functions They can be insecticidal [1,2,3,4], or antimicrobial to bacteria, fungi and viruses [5,6,7,8]; some are herbicidal [9,10], and some possess other types of biological activities [11,12]. Of the 5–10% of the higher plants which have been phyto-
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