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Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils
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Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2022) | Viewed by 15219

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hua Shao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Urumqi 830011, China
Interests: allelopathy; essential oils
Prof. Dr. Peng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Interests: root exudates and SOM dynamics; plant–microbe–soil interactions; plant functional traits and ecosystem processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Weiwei Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Interests: allelopathy; secondary metabolites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Essential Oils (EOs) are mixtures of plant-derived secondary metabolites that are mainly composed of low-molecular-weight compounds. Before being extracted by steam distillation, hydro-distillation or solvent extraction from plant materials, they are usually stored in oil ducts, resin ducts, glands or trichomes. Around 3000 essential oils have been produced using at least 2000 plant species, out of which 300 are important from a commercial point of view. A large body of published literature has investigated various EOs’ biological activities such as phytotoxic/allelopathic, anti-microbial, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor activity and so on. In the natural environment, EOs play key roles in attracting seed dispersers and pollinators, defense against pathogenic fungi and herbivores, suppressing neighboring plants via allelopathic action etc. From the perspective of allelopathy, EOs are often considered to benefit the donor species by suppressing the growth of neighboring species. On the other hand, from the perspective of phytotoxicity, some EOs and their ingredients are considered valuable promising candidates to replace synthetic pesticides for environment safety purposes. In fact, to deal with the progressively worsening situation of food safety and environmental pollution resulting from the extensive application of synthetic chemicals, attention has shifted to the development of biopesticides using allelopathic plants, including their EOs and oil constituents. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect scientific papers including research articles, reviews and short communications on the following topics: phytotoxic or allelopathic activity of plant-derived EOs; application of EOs and their constituents based on their phytotoxic activity; elucidation of the mechanism of EOs or EO constituents’ phytotoxicity.

Dr. Hua Shao
Dr. Peng Wang
Dr. Weiwei Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • essential oils
  • volatile organic compounds
  • phytotoxicity
  • llelopathy
  • biopesticides
  • bioherbicides
  • agricultural chemicals
  • allelochemicals
  • GC/MS

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3547 KiB  
Article
Allelopathic Effects of Amomum villosum Lour. Volatiles from Different Organs on Selected Plant Species and Soil Microbiota
by Xiang Zuo, Yanqian Wang, Hongyou Zhao, Guang Li, Yanfang Wang, Ge Li, Lixia Zhang and Weiwei Gao
Plants 2022, 11(24), 3550; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243550 - 16 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1857
Abstract
Amomum villosum Lour. is a perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae family, which is widely distributed in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Large amounts of volatile components contained in this plant enter the surrounding atmosphere and soil through volatilization, foliar leaching, root exudation, [...] Read more.
Amomum villosum Lour. is a perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae family, which is widely distributed in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province in Southwest China. Large amounts of volatile components contained in this plant enter the surrounding atmosphere and soil through volatilization, foliar leaching, root exudation, and residue decomposition. However, the ecological role of these compounds is currently unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the differences in the composition of volatile oils from stems, leaves, and young fruits of A. villosum, identify chemicals that had allelopathic effects, and explore the effects of the oil on the diversity and composition of soil microbiomes. Volatile oils were obtained by steam distillation and characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and then were tested for allelopathic activity using seedlings of Lactuca sativa L. and Lolium perenne L. as test species. The results showed that the oils from stems and leaves were rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons, unlike the oxygenated monoterpenes which dominated oils from young fruits. Leaves > stems > young fruits: this was the order of the allelopathic effects of volatile oils from various A. villosum organs. Among the four main chemical components in the oils, only α-pinene, which is abundant in leaves, had a stronger allelopathic action than the crude oils, implying that it might be a potential allelochemical. Experiments on soil microorganisms indicated that 3.0 mg/mL oil had the greatest effect on the structure of the soil fungal community. It can be concluded that A. villosum is capable of releasing allelochemicals which affect the growth of other plant species and the diversity and community structure of soil microorganisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils)
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15 pages, 2190 KiB  
Article
Essential Oils: Useful Tools in Storage-Pest Management
by Ľudovít Cagáň, Miroslava Apacsová Fusková, Daniela Hlávková and Oxana Skoková Habuštová
Plants 2022, 11(22), 3077; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11223077 - 13 Nov 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2415
Abstract
This study aimed to verify the level of repellent and mortality effect of two chemical substances (DEET and 2-undecanone) and seven essential oils (EOs), Allium sativum, Artemisia annua, Ocimum basilicum, Lavandula angustifolia, Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus sylvestris, and [...] Read more.
This study aimed to verify the level of repellent and mortality effect of two chemical substances (DEET and 2-undecanone) and seven essential oils (EOs), Allium sativum, Artemisia annua, Ocimum basilicum, Lavandula angustifolia, Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus sylvestris, and Curcuma longa. The storage pests Tribolium confusum, Tenebrio molitor, and Acanthoscelides obtectus were exposed to various concentrations in an olfactometer-and-mortality test. The effects were recorded 24–48–72 h after the treatments were applied. A. sativum, E. globulus, and L. augustifolia were found to have significant repellence effects. A substantial lethal effect was observed for A. sativum, E. globulus, and O. basilicum. We also found that even if the most efficient EOs were diluted to low concentrations, they still produced repellent and mortality effects. The presented results indicate that A. sativum and O. basilicum were the most effective against T. confusum and T. molitor; simultaneously, L. angustifolia and C. longa showed high activity against A. obtectus. All of these efficient EOs could be applied as effective bio-control agents in various stored conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils)
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19 pages, 991 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition and Phytotoxic and Antibiofilm Activity of the Essential Oils of Eucalyptus bicostata, E. gigantea, E. intertexta, E. obliqua, E. pauciflora and E. tereticornis
by Flavio Polito, Habiba Kouki, Sana Khedhri, Lamia Hamrouni, Yassine Mabrouk, Ismail Amri, Filomena Nazzaro, Florinda Fratianni and Vincenzo De Feo
Plants 2022, 11(22), 3017; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11223017 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2258
Abstract
Eucalyptus species are characterized by their richness in essential oils (EOs) with a great diversity of biological activities. This study reports the chemical composition and the phytotoxic and antibiofilm activities of the EOs of six Eucalyptus species growing in Tunisia: E. bicostata, E. [...] Read more.
Eucalyptus species are characterized by their richness in essential oils (EOs) with a great diversity of biological activities. This study reports the chemical composition and the phytotoxic and antibiofilm activities of the EOs of six Eucalyptus species growing in Tunisia: E. bicostata, E. gigantea, E. intertexta, E. obliqua, E. pauciflora and E. tereticornis. Four EOs were rich above all in oxygenated monoterpenes (25.3–91.4%), with eucalyptol as the main constituent. However, in the EOs of E. pauciflora and E. tereticornis, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (28.8–54.0%) were the main class of constituents; piperitone was the main constituent of both EOs. The phytotoxicity of the EOs was tested against germination and radicle elongation of the weeds Sinapis arvensis and Lolium multiflorum and the crop Raphanus sativus, resulting in the different inhibition of seed germination and radicle elongation depending on both chemical composition and the seed tested, with remarkable phytotoxicity towards S. arvensis and R. sativus. Furthermore, almost all EOs showed antibacterial potential, resulting in significant inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation and the metabolism of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) and Gram-negative (Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacterial strains, in addition to acting on mature biofilms. The EOs were inhibitory against all bacterial strains tested and usually reluctant to undergo the action of conventional antibiotics. Therefore, these EOs may be considered for applications both as herbicides and in food and health fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils)
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14 pages, 2165 KiB  
Article
Enantiomer-Selective Characterization of the Adsorption, Dissipation, and Phytotoxicity of the Plant Monoterpene Pulegone in Soils
by Jose Antonio Galán-Pérez, Beatriz Gámiz, Ivana Pavlovic and Rafael Celis
Plants 2022, 11(10), 1296; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11101296 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1932
Abstract
Plant monoterpenes have received attention for their ecological functions and as potential surrogates for synthetic herbicides, but very little is known about the processes that govern their behavior in the soil environment, and even less about the possible enantioselectivity in the functions and [...] Read more.
Plant monoterpenes have received attention for their ecological functions and as potential surrogates for synthetic herbicides, but very little is known about the processes that govern their behavior in the soil environment, and even less about the possible enantioselectivity in the functions and environmental behavior of chiral monoterpenes. We characterized the adsorption and dissipation of the two enantiomers of the chiral monoterpene pulegone in different soils, and their phytotoxicity to different plant species through Petri dish and soil bioassays. R- and S-pulegone displayed a low-to-moderate non-enantioselective adsorption on the soils that involved weak interaction mechanisms. Soil incubation experiments indicated that, once in the soil, R- and S-pulegone are expected to suffer rapid volatilization and scarcely enantioselective, biodegradation losses. In Petri dishes, the phytotoxicity of pulegone and its enantioselectivity to Lactuca sativa, Hordeum vulgare, and Eruca sativa was species-dependent. Lactuca sativa was the most sensitive species and showed higher susceptibility to S- than to R-pulegone. Biodegradation and volatilization losses greatly reduced the phytotoxic activity of S-pulegone applied to soil, but the addition of a highly-adsorptive organoclay stabilized the monoterpene and increased its phytotoxic effect. Stabilization by adsorption may represent an important mechanism by which the bioactivity of plant monoterpenes in soils can be increased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils)
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Review

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22 pages, 1376 KiB  
Review
An Update on Effectiveness and Practicability of Plant Essential Oils in the Food Industry
by Liana Claudia Salanță and Janna Cropotova
Plants 2022, 11(19), 2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192488 - 22 Sep 2022
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5753
Abstract
Consumer awareness and demands for quality eco-friendly food products have made scientists determined to concentrate their attention on sustainable advancements in the utilization of bioactive compounds for increasing safety and food quality. Essential oils (EOs) are extracted from plants and exhibit antimicrobial (antibacterial [...] Read more.
Consumer awareness and demands for quality eco-friendly food products have made scientists determined to concentrate their attention on sustainable advancements in the utilization of bioactive compounds for increasing safety and food quality. Essential oils (EOs) are extracted from plants and exhibit antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) activity; thus, they are used in food products to prolong the shelf-life of foods by limiting the growth or survival of microorganisms. In vitro studies have shown that EOs are effective against foodborne bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. The growing interest in essential oils and their constituents as alternatives to synthetic preservatives has been extensively exploited in recent years, along with techniques to facilitate the implementation of their application in the food industry. This paper’s aim is to evaluate the current knowledge on the applicability of EOs in food preservation, and how this method generally affects technological properties and consumers’ perceptions. Moreover, essential aspects concerning the limitation of the available alternatives are highlighted, followed by a presentation of the most promising trends to streamline the EOs’ usability. Incorporating EOs in packaging materials is the next step for green and sustainable foodstuff production and a biodegradable method for food preservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytotoxic Activity and Application of Plant Essential Oils)
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