Allelochemical potential of Metopium brownei

Metopium brownei is a tree that grows in coastal tropical forests along the Gulf of Mexico and in the Yucatan Peninsula. This medicinal species produc es a strongly irritant exudate, and sometimes forms pure populations favore d by fire. The bioactivity of the aqueous leachates, organic extracts (leav es, bark, and wood), and mixtures of urushiols and flavonoids from M. brown ei were evaluated on the growth of two plants: Amaranthus hypochondriacus a nd Echinochloa crusgalli, and four phytopathogenic fungi: Fusarium oxysporu m, Helminthosporium sp., Alternaria sp., and Pythium sp. Alkylcatechols (ur ushiols) were isolated from an acetone extract of the bark. Dihydroquerceti n and eriodictyol were isolated from the chloroform-methanol extract of the wood. In addition, masticadienoic acid was isolated from the leaves. The a queous leachates, organic extracts, and the mixtures of flavonoids and urus hiols were inhibitory to the growth of test plants and phytopathogenic fung i. The allelochemical role of the bioactive compounds from M. brownei is di scussed in relation with other results reported in some studies on Anacardi aceae family and M. brownei.