Background:

Myriophyllum aquaticum has a high phenotypic plasticity and its plant dispersion is a function of its fast vegetative reproduction; its submerged leaves possess structural characteristics that allow the release of organic compounds, among them phenolic compounds.

Goals:

Under laboratory conditions, this study analyzed the development of Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc. cultures associated with the release of phenolic compounds and evaluated the effect of these compounds on germination and root elongation of Lactuca sativa L.

Methods:

Under laboratory conditions, we cultivated emerging shoots of M. aquaticum to evaluate their growth and the production of phenolic compounds. We evaluated their effect using bioassays with L. sativa and applying phytotoxicity indices to the phenolic compounds released.

Results:

Our evaluation of the production of phenolic compounds found a direct relationship between this plant species and its behavior under cultivation; cultivation caused a quicker release of phenols during the first days of development. These compounds released by M. aquaticum on L. sativa, as measured by the IGN and IER index comparison, were found to have caused lower toxicity.

Conclusions:

The bioassay application with the evaluation of early development endpoints of L. sativa plantlets allowed us to confirm the effect of phenolic compounds released by the M. aquaticum submerged plants and characterize them as bioactive compounds.