Physiological,biochemical and growth responses of Azolla pinnata to chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin pesticides exposure: a comparative study

Cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos pesticide- (5, 15 and 30 ppm) induced effects on growth, metabolic and antioxidative behaviour of Azolla pinnata were analysed after 96 h of treatment. Growth of A. pinnata was increased by 72–76% over the initial mass under control condition. Further, the growth was decreased by 26 and 30% following treatment with 5 ppm of cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos, respectively, compared to control. Whereas, 30 ppm of pesticide treatment caused substantial decrease in biomass accumulation, even less than the initial mass. The Chlorophyll a content was declined at higher concentrations of chlorpyrifos, while carotenoids content increased significantly in the presence of both the pesticides. Photosynthetic rate showed declining trend with rising concentration of pesticides, while an increasing trend was noticed in the case of respiratory O₂ consumption. The oxidative biomarkers malondialdehyde, superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide increased with increasing concentration of both the pesticides. The activity of enzymatic antioxidants enzyme superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was enhanced with increasing concentrations of both the pesticides; however, a declining trend was noticed in the case of APX at 30 ppm chlorpyrifos treatment. The study concludes that chlorpyrifos appeared to be more toxic than cypermethrin; however, both the pesticides significantly reduced the growth performance.     

Metabolic responses of Azolla pinnata to cadmium stress: photosynthesis,antioxidative system and phytoremediation

This present study deals with the growth, photosynthesis, oxidative stress and phytoremediation character of Azolla pinnata L. exposed to different levels (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg·L^?1) of cadmium (Cd). Significant accumulation of Cd in Azolla fronds was noticed after 24 and 96 h of exposure and the accumulation rate was dose and time dependent. Growth of A. pinnata increased significantly after both exposure times with and without metal. At lower Cd doses (0.05 and 0.1 mg·L^?1), growth and photosynthesis of A. pinnata showed a marginal increase over the respective control, however, at higher Cd doses (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg·L^?1), a decreasing trend was noticed. At lower doses, Azolla fronds could counterbalance the negative effect of enhanced levels of superoxide radicals (SOR) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) through the greater activity of antioxidative enzymes. The decaresing trends in catalase and peroxidase activity at higher Cd doses suggest that Azolla fronds were not able to mitigate the negative effects of H₂O₂, hence an increase in malondialdehyde content was noticed. The study concludes that up to 0.1 ,mg·L^?1 Cd, A. pinnata can flourish and be used as biofertiliser and for phytoremedial purposes in Cd-contaminated fields; beyond this concentration poor growth may restrict its application.     

Cd胁迫下超富集植物圆锥南芥抗氧化机理

采用土培的方法研究了不同Cd2+添加量(0、10、20、40、80、160、240mg.kg-1)对多金属超富集植物圆锥南芥(Arabis paniculata Franch)抗氧化酶(超氧化物歧化酶SOD、过氧化氢酶POD、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶CAT、过氧化物酶APX)活性、非酶物质(巯基SH、谷胱甘肽GSH、植物络合素PCs)含量以及生物量、叶绿素、丙二醛(MDA)、半胱氨酸(Cysteine)、脯氨酸(Proline)含量的影响.结果表明,随着Cd添加量的增加,圆锥南芥的生物量、Cd含量、富集系数、转运系数呈增加趋势,SOD活性、叶绿素含量呈下降趋势.POD、CAT、APX活性以及MDA含量均呈先升高后降低的变化趋势.圆锥南芥叶片中SH、GSH、PCs含量随Cd添加量的增加而增加,当Cd添加量为240mg.kg-1时,SH、GSH、PCs含量分别比对照提高了92.7%、70.2%、143.4%,表明SH、GSH、PCs在解毒Cd毒害中起着重要作用.     

NR途径参与调节SO2胁迫下拟南芥含硫抗氧化物水平

以拟南芥为材料,研究了硝酸还原酶(NR)途径在植株响应SO_2过程中对含硫抗氧化物水平的影响.结果发现,野生型拟南芥植株中谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GPX)和谷胱甘肽硫转移酶(GST)活性高于NR缺失突变体(nia1nia2);SO_2暴露后,野生型和突变体nia1nia2植株中半胱氨酸(Cys)和谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量显著增加,GPX和GST的活性诱导性增高,且野生型植株中上述4项指标的增幅高于突变体;拟南芥逆境响应基因GSTU24和GPX7在野生型和突变体nia1nia2中差异表达,且对SO_2的响应程度不同.研究表明,植株体内NR途径与拟南芥细胞中含硫抗氧化物水平有关,NR缺失影响逆境应答中含硫抗氧化物水平的提高及抗逆基因转录,说明NR途径参与调节了植株逆境响应中含硫抗氧化物的合成及相关氧化还原反应与解毒过程.     

Vehicle pollution toxicity induced changes in physiology,defence system and biochemical characteristics of Calotropis procera L.

The present study aims to examine the physiological, biochemical and defence system responses of Calotropis procera to vehicle exhaust pollution. We selected various sample sites along two major roads in the Punjab province of Pakistan, i.e. Faisalabad to Sargodha road (FSR) and Pindi Bhattian to Lillah motorway (M-2). Traffic density at all sites and plant responses (i.e. chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, sub-stomatal CO₂ concentration, water use efficiency, total free amino acids, total soluble proteins and total antioxidant activity) were measured. Levels of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and four metals of most possible concern – i.e. lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) – were also examined in all samples. We found their considerable deposition in all the samples along roads. Inhibitory effects of roadside pollutants were noted for photosynthetic pigments, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, photosynthetic rate and total soluble proteins, whereas stimulatory effects were noted for sub-stomatal CO₂ concentration, free amino acids and total antioxidant activity. The stimulation of antioxidant enzymes activity revealed stress and mitigation of reactive oxygen species. The present study clearly signifies that C. procera has great potential to endure the stress caused by roadside pollutants.     

Acrylamide-induced alterations in lungs of mice in relation to oxidative stress indicators

The aim of the experiment was to study the influence of acrylamide (ACR) on major antioxidants in the lungs of Swiss mice. The experiment was conducted on male mice that were 8 weeks old. The mice were exposed to ACR at a single dose of 26 µg per animal, which was administered orally. Mice were anesthetized 3, 24, and 48 h after the ACR gavage. Next, histopathological and biochemical analyses of GSH concentration and the activities of SOD, GPx, and CAT were performed in the lungs. Animals exposed to ACR showed demonstrated symptoms of inflammation in lungs, hypertrophy of bronchiolar epithelium, and hyperplasia of alveolar epithelium. GSH concentration was significantly decreased 3 h after ACR gavage, which was followed by a significant increase 48 h after ACR gavage. Similarly, SOD and GPx demonstrated decreased activities 3 h after exposure to ACR, followed by increased activities 48 h after exposure to ACR. CAT activity was significantly increased 24 and 48 h after exposure to ACR. We conclude that oral exposure of mice to ACR results in alterations of lung microstructure, accompanied by the symptoms of redox imbalance.     

Vitamins E and C reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial permeability transition caused by camptothecin – an in vitro study

Camptothecin (CPT), a broad spectrum antineoplastic agent, is known to induce oxidative stress and mitochondria are among the main sources of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). We investigated the merit of vitamins E and C supplementation on CPT-induced mitochondrial alterations in vitro. Following treatment of isolated liver mitochondria with CPT, we assessed the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (MPT), concentration of malondialdehyde, antioxidants and activities of the enzymes of the respiratory chain and Krebs cycle. Our results provide evidence that CPT caused mitochondrial swelling, increased lipid peroxidation and transition of mitochondrial permeability. The CPT lowered the levels of reduced mitochondrial thiols suggesting that thiol oxidation is the mechanism underlying CPT-induced MPT. Identical experiments were also performed after preincubating the mitochondria with vitamins E and C. It was found that vitamins E and C pretreatment inhibited the deleterious effects of CPT and loss of enzyme activity was restored by antioxidant supplementation. Our results suggest that the toxicity of CPT was mediated by an increase in ROS production by mitochondria. However, the addition of vitamins E or C ameliorated the oxidative stress. We propose that an attempt to counteract the deleterious consequences of chemotherapy with nutritional therapies may be a rational approach in superior patient care especially in a disease like cancer.     

Phytoremediation potential of weed plants’ oxidative biomarker and antioxidant responses

The purpose of this study was to assess the oxidative biomarkers responses, antioxidant potential and metal accumulation tendency of weed plants collected from the control and metal-contaminated site. The metal contamination was found to be higher in soil and plant parts collected from contaminated site and the most serious problem seemed to be metal elevations above than the safe limit for Cd, Pb and Ni in the aerial parts of weed plants. There were variations in metal accumulation in different weed plants that was justified by principal component analysis. The enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were found to be higher in plant parts collected from contaminated site. Based upon metal accumulation tendency, weed plants showed a translocation ratio (>1) that reflect their potential for metal remediation. The values of metal pollution index also showed higher tendency of metal accumulation in weed plants, particularly in Solanum nigrum, Euphorbia hirta, Amaranthus hybridus and Xanthium strumarium, and they can also flourish at contaminated sites with more production of antioxidants. So, it suggests that studied weed species can be classified as phytoremediation plants and can be used as eco-friendly and economically feasible technique for restoring the land contaminated with toxic metals.     

抗氧化剂对二氧化硫诱导的大鼠心脏线粒体损伤的缓解作用

采用Wistar大鼠作为模型进行整体动物染毒，SO₂组动式吸入SO₂（7mg/m³）28d，每天4h；SO₂+NALC（N-乙酰半胱氨酸）组吸入同样条件的SO₂，且自SO₂染毒之日起隔天腹腔注射50mg/kg b.w.NALC，对照组吸入新鲜空气并注射生理盐水.采用荧光定量PCR技术检测心脏组织中氧化磷酸化复合体亚基CO1和ATP6以及核转录因子PGC1-α、NRF1、TFAM的mRNA转录水平；并采用Western blot技术检测3种线粒体调控基因的蛋白表达.结果发现，在吸入SO₂后，核转录因子PGC1-α、NRF1、TFAM的mRNA转录和蛋白表达水平显著降低，并且2种亚基CO1和ATP6的mRNA转录水平也显著下降，而抗氧化剂NALC处理能够明显缓解3种核转录因子及2种复合体亚基表达水平的下降.提示SO₂暴露通过下调PGC1-α、NRF1、TFAM表达来影响线粒体DNA的转录，干扰氧化磷酸化重要组分的合成，该过程发生机制可能与自由基的产生相关，而抗氧化剂的使用可有效缓解SO₂诱导的心脏线粒体损伤作用.