Allelopathic potential of Aulonemia aristulata (Döll) MacClure, a native bamboo of Atlantic Rain Forest

The effects of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Aulonemia aristulata plant material were investigated on the germination and growth of Lactuca sativa and Sesbania virgata. The aqueous extract of leaves inhibited the germination of lettuce seeds, but not of Sesbania virgata. The aqueous extract of leaves was partitioned affording an aqueous and n-butanolic fractions, which caused 17.3 ± 10.4% and 94.6 ± 1.3% germination inhibition of Lactuca sativa seeds. All extracts were monitored by TLC analysis using flavonoids, phenolic acid and giberellic acid compounds as standards. An HPLC profile of aqueous extracts of its leaves was prepared based on their retention time and increase of peaks after co-injection with a mixture of authentic samples of flavonoids and fenolics acids compounds. The HPLC data indicated that three compounds were involved in germination inhibitory effects based on retention time as quercetin, rutin and ferulic acid, corroborating with literature information's. These preliminaries results showed that allelopathic interactions, between the bamboos A. aristulata and natives species, have been proposed as an explanation to bamboo-dominance in disturbed areas in Atlantic Forest.