A chemical ecological investigation of the allelopathic potential of <i>Lamium amplexicaule</i> and <i>Lamium purpureum</i>

The overall goal of the project was to test the hypothesis that Lamium amplexicaule and Lamium purpureum, weedy invasive species to North America, use phytotoxic allelochemicals in interplant competition. The chemical compositions of the essential oils from the aerial parts of L. amplexicaule and L. purpureum have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oils and several essential oil components have been screened for phytotoxic activity on lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) as well as nematocidal activity against Caenorhabditis elegans, brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality, and insecticidal activity against the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta × richteri). L. amplexicaule essential oil was composed largely of α-pinene, β- pinene, 1-octen-3-ol, (E)-caryophyllene, and germacrene D, while L. purpureum oil was dominated by α-pinene, β-pinene, 1-octen-3-ol, β-elemene, and germacrene D. Neither essential oil exhibited notable phytotoxicity or lethality against nema-todes, brine shrimp, or fire ants. It is unlikely, therefore, that the allelopathy observed in these Lamium species is due to volatile phytochemical constituents