Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on October 7, 2006
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcl213
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
98/6/1261    most recent
mcl213v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by SINGH, H. P.
Right arrow Articles by KOHLI, R. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by SINGH, H. P.
Right arrow Articles by KOHLI, R. K.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by SINGH, H. P.
Right arrow Articles by KOHLI, R. K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received June 25, 2006
Revised August 15, 2006
Accepted August 24, 2006

Article

{alpha}-Pinene Inhibits Growth and Induces Oxidative Stress in Roots

HARMINDER P. SINGH 1, DAIZY R. BATISH 2 *, SHALINDER KAUR 2, KOMAL ARORA 2, and RAVINDER K. KOHLI 3

1 Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India
2 Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India
3 Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India; Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
DAIZY R. BATISH, E-mail: daizybatish{at}yahoo.com


  Abstract

• Background and Aims Determining the mode of action of allelochemicals is one of the challenging aspects in allelopathic studies. Recently, allelochemicals have been proposed to cause oxidative stress in target tissue and induce an antioxidant mechanism. {alpha}-Pinene, one of the common monoterpenoids emitted from several aromatic plants including forest trees, is known for its growth-inhibitory activity. However, its mechanism of action remains unexplored. The aim of the present study was to determine the inhibitory effect of {alpha}-pinene on root growth and generation of reactive oxygen species, as indicators of oxidative stress and changes in activities of antioxidant enzymes.

• Methods Effects of {alpha}-pinene on early root growth were studied in five test species, Cassia occidentalis, Amaranthus viridis, Triticum aestivum, Pisum sativum and Cicer arietinum. Electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide generation, proline accumulation, and activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) were studied in roots of C. occidentalis.

• Key Results {alpha}-Pinene inhibited the radicle growth of all the test species. Exposure of C. occidentalis roots to {alpha}-pinene enhanced solute leakage, and increased levels of malondialdehyde, proline and hydrogen peroxide, indicating lipid peroxidation and induction of oxidative stress. Activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT, GPX, APX and GR were significantly elevated, thereby indicating the enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon {alpha}-pinene exposure. Increased levels of scavenging enzymes indicates their induction as a secondary defence mechanism in response to {alpha}-pinene.

• Conclusions It is concluded that {alpha}-pinene inhibits early root growth and causes oxidative damage in root tissue through enhanced generation of ROS, as indicated by increased lipid peroxidation, disruption of membrane integrity and elevated antioxidant enzyme levels.

Keywords: {alpha}-Pinene, radicle growth, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, proline content, electrolyte leakage, membrane integrity, antioxidant enzymes, oxidative damage, Cassia occidentalis.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.