Salvia pratensis L. extracts as potential eco-friendly herbicides for sustainable agricultural applications

The aim of this study is based on the searching of ″new″ potential environmentally friendly plant based products with herbicidal activity. The purpose of the study is also to find the source which is easy to harvest in high amount within the local environment. 

Salvia pratensis L. is the common medow plant. It is spread all over the world in temperate zone in high density. The investigation of its composition and potential biological activity have been very less studied comparing to the most famous Salvia officinals L. The idea of the research also focused on plant sourse which is easy to reach and harvest as well as provide the experiments economically interested. 

The extraction of active components were prepared by hot water in two different degrees (60 °C and 100 °C) and soxhlet extraction by three different concentration of ethanol (10%, 30% and 70%). The total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, rosmarinic acid content, as well as the phytotoxic and antioxidant potential of the extracts were evaluated. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were conducted to compare the different extracts. 

The extraction method significantly influenced the quantity of dry mass and quantity of phenolic compounds in the extracts. Concerning to phytotoxic activity, the highes effectivity was observed in the etanolic extract with lowest concentration (10%). No germination was observed in any of the four model plants after applying the highest doses. 

In summary, in current investigation was found the effective low cost extraction method for extraction of secondary metabolites – active components from S. pratensis which than appears to be a promising natural source with potential herbicidal effect.

Learn more at nature.com