Allelopathic potential of Merostachys pluriflora Munro ex EG Camus

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is rich in native bamboo species. After anthropogenic and natural disturbances, some woody bamboos may turn into dominant species. Bamboo dominance can decrease tree recruitment and growth, modifying forest structure and composition. The capacity of dominance in Asiatic bamboo was primarily due to metabolites leached out from leaves and fallen litter. Recent studies with native bamboo species have shown that some species also release chemical compounds that may contribute to the suppression of recruitment of tree species modifying forest structure and composition. Allelopathy is the negative effect of the release of chemicals by one plant species on the growth or reproduction of another. Allelopathy plays an important role in community organization. This study aimed to assess the allelopathic potencial of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of leaves, culms and rhizomes of Merostachys pluriflora Munro ex E.G. Camus, a native bamboo on the germination and subsequent development of Lactuca sativa L., Oriza sativa L., Sapindus saponaria L. e Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. The aqueous extract will be portioned using different degrees of solvent polarity (hexane, ethyl acetate e n-butanol) to obtain the fractions. Germination and growth biossays will be performed on the species. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analyses will be performed for screening and chemical detection of the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds of extracts and fractions. The extracts and active fractions will be analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using gradient exploratory.