biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 46:157-159, 2003 | DOI: 10.1023/A:1027317906839

Effects of Capsaicin on Plant Growth

H. Kato-Noguchi¹, Y. Tanaka¹

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa, Japan

Capsaicin, a possible allelochemical, caused growth inhibition of roots and shoots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa), cress (Lepidium sativum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), timothy (Phleum pratense) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), and suppressed their germination. Increasing the dose of capsaicin increased the inhibition. The concentrations for 50 % inhibition of the root growth were 2.7, 0.32, 2.1, 0.27, 0.29 and 0.57 mM for alfalfa, cress, lettuce, crabgrass, timothy and ryegrass, respectively, and the concentrations for 50 % inhibition of the shoot growth were 17, 0.87, 6.7, 2.3, 1.4 and 6.2 mM for alfalfa, cress, lettuce, crabgrass, timothy and ryegrass, respectively. Germination percentage was inhibited 50 % at the concentrations 82, 88, 68, 4.8, 22 and 11 mM for alfalfa, cress, lettuce, crabgrass, timothy and ryegrass, respectively. Thus, effectiveness of capsaicin on the plant growth differed with species and targets, and suggests that capsaicin may act as an allelochemical to other plants.

Keywords: alfalfa; allelopathy; Capsicum annuum; crabgrass; cress; germination inhibitor; growth inhibitor; lettuce; phytotoxicity; ryegrass; timothy

Subjects: alfalfa, capsaicin; allelochemicals; capsaicin; Capsicum annuum; crabgrass, capsaicin; cress, capsaicin; Digitaria sanguinalis; germination; Lactuca sativa; Lepidium sativum; lettuce, capsaicin; Lolium multiflorum; Medicago sativa; pepper, capsaicin, growth; Phleum pratense; phytotoxicity; ryegrass, capsaicin; timothy, capsaicin

Published: July 1, 2003  Show citation