Analysis of benzoxazinone derivatives in plant tissues and their degradation products in agricultural soils

Plant allelopathy may be considered an additional means of weed control in modern agriculture, but its means of action are not well understood and knowledge of specific allelochemicals involved in allelopathy is required.Benzoxazinoids are a chemical family with the most active allelopathic compounds in some crops (e.g., wheat, rye or maize). The analysis of these analytes has been based mainly on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) and liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to ultraviolet detection. To improve the sensitivity and selectivity, new methodologies (e.g., LC coupled to MS and tandem MS) are being developed. Less information is available on the analytical strategies to determine their degradation products in soil samples.This article presents an overview of recent advanced analysis of benzoxazinone derivatives in plant tissues and their degradation products in agricultural soils.