A correlation between plant growth and accumulation of naphthoquinones (shinanolone
(1), 7-methyljuglone (2) and diospyrin (3)) was investigated in seeds and seedlings of
Euclea natalensis A.DC. In this study, the seeds represented the first stage whereas the
second seedling stage was defined as the stage, when the radicles were about 6 cm in
length. The lengths of the seedlings at the third, fourth and fifth seedling stages were
9 cm, 12 cm and 16 cm respectively. Plant materials collected from the five seedling
stages were separately extracted using chloroform and the naphthoquinones were then
quantified by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Shinanolone
(1), which was the only naphthoquinone detectible from seeds, accumulated at variable
rates (P < 0.01) and no trend could be established between its synthesis and seedling
growth. The content of shinanolone (1) ranged from 87.5 mg/kg in seeds (first stage) to a
high mean value of 1047 mg/kg during the fourth seedling stage. A significant correlation
(P < 0.01) was found between the mean concentrations of 7-methyljuglone (2) and
seedling growth. 7-Methyljuglone (2) was quantified at a high mean level of 5003 mg/kg
during the third seedling stage and was not detected from the seed samples. A positive
correlation (P < 0.01) was established between the concentration of diospyrin (3) and
seedling stages. Diospyrin (3) was detected at an elevated mean concentration of
6182 mg/kg during the fifth seedling stage, which was higher than the other quantified
naphthoquinones.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000789 |
| Date | 08 April 2008 |
| Creators | Bapela, MJ, Lall, N, Isaza-Martinez, JH, Regnier, T, Meyer, JJM |
| Publisher | South African Journal of Botany |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | Tshwane University of Technology |
| Relation | ISI Science Citation Index |
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