title: Citronellol disrupts membrane integrity by inducing free radical generation.
abstract: Citronellol, an oxygenated monoterpene, is found naturally in the essential oils of several aromatic plants and has been reported to exhibit growth inhibitory and pesticidal activities. However, its mechanism of action is largely unexplored. We investigated the effect of citronellol, which is lipophilic in nature on membrane integrity in terms of lipid peroxidation, conjugated dienes content, membrane permeability, cell death, and activity of the enzyme lipoxygenase in roots of hydroponically grown wheat. Citronellol (50-250 microM) caused a significant inhibition of root and shoot growth. Furthermore, exposure to citronellol enhanced the solute leakage, increased the malondialdehyde content and lipoxygenase activity, and decreased the conjugated diene content. This indicates that citronellol induces generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulting in lipid peroxidation and membrane damage. This was confirmed by in situ histochemical studies indicating cell death and disruption of membrane integrity. We conclude from this study that citronellol inhibits the root growth by ROS-mediated membrane disruption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Vocational Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India.
authors.forename: Shalinder
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Shivani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.forename: Harminder Pal
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Daizy Rani
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Batish
authors.forename: Ravinder Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Kohli
mesh_terms: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014908:Triticum
chemical_list: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D005609:Free Radicals; D039821:Monoterpenes; C007078:citronellol