ABSTRACT
Cichorium intybus (common chicory), a perennial plant, common in anthropogenic sites, has been the object of a multitude of studies in recent years due to its high content of antioxidants utilized in pharmacy and food industry. Here, the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites and the activity of enzymatic antioxidants under toxic metal stress was studied. Plants inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis and non-inoculated were grown on non-polluted and toxic metal enriched substrata. The results presented here indicate that AMF improves chicory fitness. Fresh and dry weight was found to be severely affected by the fungi and heavy metals. The concentration of hydroxycinnamates was increased in the shoots of mycorrhizal plants cultivated on non-polluted substrata, but no differences were found in plants cultivated on metal enriched substrata. The activity of SOD and H2O2 removing enzymes CAT and POX was elevated in the shoots of mycorrhizal plants regardless of the cultivation environment. Photochemical efficiency of inoculated chicory was significantly improved. Our results indicate that R. irregularis inoculation had a beneficial role in sustaining the plants ability to cope with the deleterious effects of metal toxicity.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/metabolism , Cichorium intybus/drug effects , Cichorium intybus/metabolism , Glomeromycota/physiology , Metals/toxicity , Mycorrhizae/physiology , Phytochemicals/biosynthesis , Cichorium intybus/enzymology , Cichorium intybus/microbiology , Environmental Pollutants/toxicity , Hydrogen Peroxide/metabolismABSTRACT
Three new and one known furofuran lignans--syringaresinol derivatives--along with the known phenylpropanoids cichoriin and syringin were isolated from a callus tissue of Cichorium intybus. The compounds were characterised by spectral methods. This is the first report on the presence of furofuran lignans in Cichorium species.
Subject(s)
Cichorium intybus/chemistry , Furans/chemistry , Lignans/chemistry , Lignans/isolation & purification , Plant Structures/chemistry , Biochemistry/methods , Cells, Cultured , Cichorium intybus/metabolism , Molecular Structure , Plant Structures/metabolism , Propanols/chemistry , Propanols/isolation & purification , Seedlings/chemistry , Seedlings/metabolismABSTRACT
Propagated "IN VITRO" shoots and plantlets of ARNICA MONTANA L. (Asteraceae) have been shown to produce sesquiterpene lactones, i.e. helenalin and 11,13-dihydrohelenalin esters. The compounds were detected in green organs only; roots of the plantlets contained no sesquiterpene lactones. The helenalin acetate content in leaves of the plantlets (0.073% dry wt) was 4-times higher than in proliferated shoots (0.016% dry wt). The best rate of shoot multiplication was achieved on MS medium, supplemented with NAA 0.5mg/l and Kn 2.5 mg/l (formation of 22 shoots within 8 weeks).
