Allelopathic potential of leaves and flowers extracts of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic and physiological effects of aqueous extracts from both the leaves and flowers of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (aroeira mansa), when using lettuce as a test organism. The physiological effect was evaluated by first count, germination, root length (RL) and shoot length (SL) testing. We tested five extract concentrations (0, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100% v/v) with five replicates of 100 seeds per treatment, kept at 25 °C. To analyze cytotoxic effect we assessed the mitotic index. A statistically significant difference in the first count and germination tests, showing a reduction in germination, SL, and RL with increasing concentration, with the 25% extract showing the highest inhibitory effect was observed. The seeds treated with aqueous extracts above 50% presented no germination. The mitotic index did not differ statistically for the various concentrations of aqueous extract S. terebinthifolius. Under the experimental conditions used, the allelopathic activity of the aqueous extract S. terebinthifolius became more significant with increasing concentration, negatively influencing germination, and growth of seedling lettuce (used as the bio-indicator), but causing no change in the process of cell division.