Allelophatic activity of crude extracts from three species of copaifera (leguminosae - caesalpinioidedae)

Abstract

For the past few years, special attention has been given to chemical composites involved in interaction between plants, especially when the potential of their use in weed management is known. The Amazon region with its enormous biodiversity and abundance of plant species may offer excellent opportunities for the discovery of innovative chemical molecules capable of being used in agriculture. Thus, in this paper, a comparative analysis was made between the potential allelopathic activity of three species of Copaifera, characterizing the variations of the intensity of the allelopathic effects of the donating species, plant fraction and chemical component polarity. Hexanic and ethanolic extracts, prepared at 1.0% from the leaves, branches and barks of Copaifera duckei, C. marti and C. reticulata, were tested on seed germination and development of Mimosa pudica and Senna obtusifolia weed roots. The results showed that the intensity of the effects varied according to the variables studied. The ethanolic extract of C. martii and C. reticulate leaves and barks showed high potential to inhibit seed germination, especially of M. pudica species. The species C. duckei showed low allelopathic inhibitory potential in the germination of two receptor species. Barks, branches and especially leaves of C. duckei presented more expressive inhibitory potential for root development. Polar, and especially non-polar chemical composites, are involved in the allelopathic activity of C. duckei. Differently for C. martii and C. reticulata, the polar composites are preferentially involved in the inhibitory activity evidenced by these species, especially those located on the leaves and barks. Comparatively, it was observed that the weed species receptor tended to show more sensitivity to the allelopathic effects of the extracts, especially in the germination bioassay.