Abstract: Ethyl ether extract from seed of Podophyllum hexandrum Royle was separated and identified by GC-MS, nineteen compounds existed including fatty acid, alkenes and others, most of which had been proved to possess inhibition activities that might be the primary reason of unhealthy germination of P.hexandrum Royle seed. Hydroquinone was firstly identified in this experiment and its bioactivity had never been reported in the reference before. The further study of its bioactivity was conducted on wheat and in vitro culture of P.hexandrum Royle seed. The results showed that hydroquinone(1×10^-1～1.0 mg·L^-1) played a positive role and shortened the cycle in growth and development, which indicates that hydroquinone has similarity to auxin on plant growth and development.

Key words: Podophyllum hexandrum Royle seed, dormancy mechanism, hydroquinone, bioactivity identification, auxin