Chemical characterization of Euphorbia heterophylla L. essential oils and their antioxidant activity and allelopathic potential on Cenchrus echinatus L.

The genus Euphorbia attracted the attention of many researchers worldwide, from natural products, bioactivity, and ecological perspective. The essential oils (EOs) of Euphorbia heterophylla are poorly studied. Therefore the present study aimed to provide a detailed profile of the E. heterophylla EOs as well as determine thier antioxidant and allelopathic activities. The EOs from aerial parts of E. heterophylla were extracted using hydrodistillation and analyzed via GC-MS. The antioxidant activity was determined based on scavenging of the free radicle, 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and H2O2. Various concentrations of the EOs were tested against the noxious weed, Cenchrus echinatus. Thirty-five compounds were identified representing 100% of the total mass. Four classes of components were characterized among which terpenoids were the main components (88.70%). Monoterpenes represented the main class (69.48%), followed by sesquiterpenes (18.63%), and only one diterpenoid, kaur-16-ene, was identified. The 1,8-cineole (32.03%), camphor (16.54%), β-elemene (5.92%), endo-borneol (4.94%), limonene (4.27%), n-pentatriacontane (3.91%), α-pinene (3.89%) were the major compounds. The EOs composition of Egyptian E. heterophylla ecospecies was comparable to other reported Euphorbia species, although it showed no correlation with Nigerian E. heterophylla ecospecies. The EOs from E. heterophylla aerial parts exhibited significant antioxidant activity. Moreover, a concentration of 100 µL L-1 of the EOs reduced the germination, root, and shoot growth of C. echinatus by about 93.95%, 84.6%, and 57.8%, respectively. Therefore, the EOs from E. heterophylla could be integrated into the control of this weed, as eco-friendly biocontrol method. Further study is needed to characterize their allelopathic activity at field conditions as well as to evaluate their durability and biosafety.