Inibitori nel Sarcotesta del Seme diGinkgo BilobaE loro Azione Rallentatrice Sullo Sviluppo dell'embrione

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Abstract
Inhibitors in the sarcotesta of GINKGO BILOBA seeds and their retarding action on embryo growth. — The sarcotesta of Ginkgo biloba seeds contains some inhibitors which delay or hamper the germination of other cormophytes seeds. This has been proved with seeds of Hordeum vulgare L., Vicia sativa L., and Triticum vulgare L. germinating in water extracts of ripe sarcotesta at various concentrations. Water extracts of ripe sarcotesta at various concentrations have an anti-mitotic action on root apices of Allium cepa L., resulting in a marked preprophasic inhibition, chromosome stickiness, more or less evident c.-metaphases, and other effects. The water extracts were kept at their original pH (4–4,2) or alkalinized up to a pH of 6,4–6,6. Indirect statistical evidence, which appears to be highly significant if tested with Student's t, shows that: i) in the seeds of Ginkgo themselves these inhibitors delay embryo development; ii) in the individual seeds of a same plant the inhibitory capacity of the sarcotesta affects embryo development at an earlier or later stage depending on how soon the sarcotesta ripens; iii) the action of the sarcotesta on the embryo decreases with a decreasing water content of the former. The seeds of Ginkgo biloba do not go through a dormant phase but germinate as soon as the embryo is fully developed. It was already known that temperatures not sufficiently high have a retarding action on embryo growth in this species. This fact together with the presence of inhibitors in the sarcotesta can be interpreted as a biological defense against the danger of the seeds germinating in autumn and the seedlings or young plants dying during severe winter condition.

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