Allelopathic potential of Cyperus rotundus L. II. Isolation and identification of phytotoxins

In earlier work we had found that Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) has a strong allelopathic interference with several test crops. In this study Chromatographic analyses using HPLC have revealed the presence of ferulic, caffeic, hydroxyl benzoic, syringic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric acids and 3 unidentified compounds in C. rotundus shoot and the same phenolic acids and one unidentified compound in the tuber. Additional chromatographic analyses showed that the shoot and tuber of C. rotundus also contained 13 and 11 volatile compounds, respectively. Of these 10 identified compounds were: α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, camsaicin, artimisin, camphene, camphor, citronellal, farnesol and petalostemumol. These isolated compounds have been reported to be phytoxic against several plant species.