Phytotoxic activity of crude aqueous extracts and fractions of young leaves of Sapindus saponaria L. (Sapindaceae)

• Main Authors: Patrícia Umeda Grisi, Sônia Cristina Juliano Gualtieri, Marli Aparecida Ranal, Denise Garcia de Santana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Botânica do Brasil 2013-03-01
• Series: Acta Botânica Brasílica
• Subjects: Allium cepa L.; Lactuca sativa L.; phytotoxicity; soapberry; Triticum aestivum L
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-33062013000100009

The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytotoxic potential of aqueous extract of young leaves of Sapindus saponaria L. (soapberry) on the diaspore germination and seedling growth Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce) and Allium cepa L. (onion), as well as to determine, by bioassay-guided fractioning, whether the fractionated extracts of those leaves are phytotoxic to Triticum aestivum L. (wheat) coleoptiles. The aqueous extract was prepared using 100 g of dried plant material dissolved in 1000 ml of distilled water, resulting in a concentration of 10.0%. Distilled water was added in order to obtain dilutions of 7.5%, 5.0%, and 2.5%. The extraction was carried out with young leaves (in powder form) and organic solvents of various polarities. We fractioned the ethyl acetate extract using column chromatography. The phytotoxic potential of the aqueous extract of young leaves S. saponaria varied according to the receiving species and the concentration-dependent inhibitory effect. The ethyl acetate extract, specifically fraction 6 (57-70), had the greatest inhibitory effect on the elongation of wheat coleoptiles, indicating that the compounds responsible for the phytotoxic effect reside within this fraction.