Allelopathic activity of Matricaria chamomilla essential oil in bioautography test

Essential oils are responsible for many activities in plants viz., interaction with other plants through allelopathic effects. The essential oil of Matricaria chamomilla was tested for allelopathic effects using the bioautography test and characterized by GC/MS. It was then fractioned by TLC, whereby the fraction and compounds responsible for the activity were identified. The fraction with the better growth inhibitions was bisabolol, which is also the main compound, followed by the fraction containing espathulenol, bisabolol oxide and another with polyenes. The bioautography test proved very effective, economic and speedy method to identify the allelopathic compounds.