AUTHOR=Kamran Muhammad , Khan Abdul L. , Ali Liaqat , Hussain Javid , Waqas Muhammad , Al-Harrasi Ahmed , Imran Qari M. , Kim Yoon-Ha , Kang Sang-Mo , Yun Byung-Wook , Lee In-Jung 

TITLE=Hydroquinone; A Novel Bioactive Compound from Plant-Derived Smoke Can Cue Seed Germination of Lettuce

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2017.00030

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2017.00030

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>Plant-derived smoke has been known to play an important role in distribution and growth of vegetation. Using a proficiently designed furnace, we extracted smoke from the leaves of four plant viz. <italic>Helianthus annuus</italic>,<italic>Aloe vera</italic>,<italic>Ginkgo biloba</italic>, and <italic>Cymbopogon jwarancusa</italic>. Smoke dilutions obtained from these plants were obtained in different concentrations to identify potential lettuce growth promoting smoke solution. Results revealed that smoke obtained from <italic>G. biloba</italic> significantly enhanced the lettuce seed germination. This solution was then partitioned into ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, <italic>n</italic>-hexane, chloroform and ether fractions. Ethyl acetate fraction was found to be potent to enhance seed germination. This fraction was subjected to column chromatography and spectroscopic techniques to obtain compound <bold>1</bold>. This compound was identified as hydroquinone using 1D and 2D NMR techniques. At low concentrations (5, 10, and 20 ppm), compound <bold>1</bold> enhanced the lettuce seed germination; however, higher concentrations inhibited its growth as compared to control.</p>