Allelopathic potential and identification of secondary metabolites in extracts of Canavalia ensiformis L.

ABSTRACT The species that have allelopathic potential are promising in agriculture, with the perspective of identifying their secondary metabolites and manipulating them, for practical applications and thus be used to control weeds. In this context, this work aimed to verify the allelopathic effect and to identify the secondary metabolites in the Canavalia ensiformis species. The Lactuca sativa, Digitaria insularis, Emilia coccinea and Portulaca oleracea species were used as recipient species. To evaluate the allelopathic potential, the ethanolic extract of the aerial part (leaf + stem) of the donor specie was carried out. Potential allelopathic effects were evaluated by germination tests and initial seedling growth. The identification of the secondary metabolites of the aerial part of C. ensiformis was also performed using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography technique. The ethanolic extract cause inhibition of germination and germination speed index of L. sativa. The aerial part of C. ensiformis contains the compounds belonging to phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid), flavonoids (kaempferol, naringin and rutin) and carboxylic acids (citric acid, malonic acid and aspartic acid) they can be responsible for the allelopathic activity of this species.