Abstract

JUAREZ, Víctor D  and  CAZON, Ada V. Autotoxicity in Tithonia tubaeformis as a mechanism of invasion control. Ecol. austral [online]. 2003, vol.13, n.2, pp.133-138. ISSN 1667-782X.

In the last decades, the study of biological invasions has increased, as one of the components of global change and biodiversity losses. Tithonia tubaeformis, a plant from Mexico, is a invasive species in Northwestern Argentina. Tithonia tubaeformis appeared in the Lerma Valley (Salta) in 1978, and is found as a weed in corn, sorghum, and bean crops. The invasion success of this plant is related to its reproductive rate. This species produces more than 3000 fruits per plant. Dry tissues of the inflorescence, leaf and stem were macerated separately in distilled water and the extraction of the compounds was conducted using n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. Bioassays were run in triplicate, following a randomized design in a germination chamber, using 20 seeds per container. Each container was moistened with the different extracts separately. Chloroform extracts from stems and leaves were more inhibitor of germination. From these extracts a TLC chromatography was conducted on silica gel and a flavonoid (5,3´-dihidroxi-7,4´-dimetoxiflavone) has been isolated and their structure determined by spectroscopic means. Three flavonoid concentrations (0.5, 1.5 and 3.5 mg/mL) were used in a bioassay. We determined a higher inhibitor effect at 3.5 mg/mL concentration.

Keywords : Allelochemicals; Flavonoids; Allelophaty; Chromatography; Phytotoxic.

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