What is it about?
Crotalaria (Fabaceae) occurs abundantly in tropical and subtropical regions and has about 600 known species. These plants are widely used in agriculture, mainly as cover plants and green manures, in addition to their use in the management of phytonematodes. A striking feature of these species is the production of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), secondary allelochemicals involved in plant defense against herbivores. In Crotalaria species, monocrotaline is the predominant PA, which has many biological activities reported, including cytotoxicity, tumorigenicity, hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity, with a wide range of ecological interactions.
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Why is it important?
Studying Crotalaria species can improve flora and fauna, especially insects and nematodes, in agroecosystems. This promotes natural biological control and benefits the ecosystem.
Perspectives
This review summarizes information about monocrotaline, showing such effects in these environments, both above and below ground, and their potential use in pest management programs.
Full Professor José Mauricio Simões Bento
Universidade de Sao Paulo Campus de Piracicaba
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Monocrotaline presence in the Crotalaria (Fabaceae) plant genus and its influence on arthropods in agroecosystems, Brazilian Journal of Biology, January 2024, FapUNIFESP (SciELO),
DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.256916.
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