Toxicity Assessment for Extract of Invasive Alien Weed Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis),on Plants, Soil Microorganisms, and Mammals

Heonseop Eom1   Sang Eun Oh1   So Yeon  Kim1   Se Jin Park1   Minji Hong1   Songmun  Kim1   Ki Hwan Hwang2   Yong Ho Lee3   Sun Hee Hong3,*   

1School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
2Moghu Research Center Ltd., Daejeon 34115, Korea
3Department of Plant Life and Environmental Science, Hankyong National University, Ansung 17579, Korea

Abstract

Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis) is considered as one of the most important invasive alien weeds, rapidly spreading to agricultural lands in Jeju Island. The purpose of the current study was to understand the toxicological effects of S. arvensis on plants, soil microorganisms, and mammals. In the plant toxicity tests, the GR50 value of morning glory for the S. arvensis extract was found to be 6,370 mg L-1, suggesting that the extract was non-toxic on plants. Moreover, the soil and foliar applications of the extract also showed that the extract rarely made adverse effects on plants. As a result of microbial toxicity tests, the EC50 values of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and Chlorella vulgaris for the S. arvensis extract were substantially high and accounted for 377.6 and 446.3 mg L-1, respectively. These results indicate that inhibitory effects of the S. arvensis extract on activity of soil microorganisms were insignificant. In the cytotoxicity tests, the CC50 values of RAW264.7 macrophages and human keratinocytes for the S. arvensis extract were 591.4 and 563.3 μg mL-1, respectively, demonstrating that the extract had a low level of cytotoxic effects. The acute toxicity test with rats revealed that single oral administration of the S. arvensis extract up to 2000 mg kg-1 did not show any mortality, clinical symptoms, necropsy findings, decreases in body weight, and hematological changes. The overall findings of the present study suggest that the dominance of the invasive alien weed S. arvensis in Jeju Island can rarely cause adverse effects on the environment and humans.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Outbreak of a foreign weed corn spurrey () in Jeju Island.