Identification of two compounds correlated with lack of rooting capacity of chestnut cuttings

Cuttings from mature chestnut (Castanea spp.) trees are very difficult to root, whereas Juvenile or etiolated cuttings root easily. The HPLC chromatograms from mature cuttings consistently showed two well-defined peaks that were absent from juvenile or etiolated cuttings. The compounds responsible for these two peaks were isolated and identified as derivatives of ellagic acid, 3,3',4-tri-O-methylellagic acid (compound I) and 3,4,4'-tri-O-methylellagic acid (compound II). Compound I significantly inhibited rooting as measured by the bean test; a concentration of 3.0 X 10(-5) M caused a 32% inhibition in number of roots formed compared with controls grown in 10(-5) M IAA. When compound I was mixed with an equal quantity of IAA the rooting activity of the auxin was reduced by 31.5%. An insufficient amount of compound II was available for the bean assay.