title: Phytotoxicity of major constituents of the volatile oil from leaves of Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit.
abstract: The phytotoxicity of the three major monoterpene constituents of the essential oil from leaves of Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit. (redstem wormwood) was investigated. GC/GC-MS analysis revealed that the essential oil (yield 0.84%) is a complex mixture containing 19 monoterpenes, 7 sesquiterpenes and 15 other compounds--aliphatic alcohols, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons and esters. The three major monoterpenes were beta-myrcene (30.2%), p-cymene (12.8%) and dl-limonene (12.4%). The essential oil and the three monoterpenes exhibited phytotoxicity and reduced germination, seedling growth, chlorophyll content and percent respiration of Avena sativa and Triticum aestivum in a dose-response manner. The inhibitory effect of monoterpenes was comparatively smaller than of the crude essential oil and beta-myrcene was most toxic followed by p-cymene, whereas limonene was least toxic. The study suggests that A. scoparia oil and beta-myrcene can be explored for phytotoxicity against weeds.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies, Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
authors.forename: Harminder Pal
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Shalinder
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.forename: Daizy R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Batish
authors.forename: Ravinder K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Kohli
mesh_terms: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000475:Alkenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D019306:Artemisia / Q000737:chemistry*; D053138:Cyclohexenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000081007:Cymenes; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007194:India; D000077222:Limonene; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D013729:Terpenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D014908:Triticum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000475:Alkenes; D053138:Cyclohexenes; D000081007:Cymenes; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D013729:Terpenes; C007210:4-cymene; C509595:myrcene; D000077222:Limonene