title: Salicylic acid restrains nickel toxicity, improves antioxidant defence system and enhances the production of anticancer alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus (L.).
abstract: Salicylic acid (SA) has been reported to ameliorate various stresses in plants. In order to explore the role of SA under nickel (Ni) stress, thirty-days old plants of periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L.) were supplied with eight treatments comprising basal application of Ni (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg kg(-1)) and foliar application of SA (0 and 10(-5)M) under net house conditions. Ni application significantly reduced the growth attributes including plant height, leaf-area index and fresh and dry weights of shoot and root. Increasing Ni concentration led to a gradual decrease in photosynthetic parameters and activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase. The plants, undergoing Ni stress, exhibited a significant increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase together with an increase in electrolyte leakage and proline content. Total alkaloid content was also declined in Ni-treated plants. Foliar application of SA (10(-5)M) reduced the deleterious effects of Ni on plant growth, accelerating the restoration of growth processes. SA also improved the total alkaloid content under normal as well as adverse conditions. Foliar spray of SA significantly improved the content of anticancer alkaloids vincristine (by 22.2%) and vinblastine (by 50.0%) in plants treated with 150 mg kg(-1) of Ni.
authors.affiliation: Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002 UP, India.
authors.forename: Mohd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Idrees
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naeem
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aftab
authors.forename: M Masroor A
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.lastname: Moinuddin
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000378:metabolism; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000378:metabolism; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D030008:Catharanthus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D009532:Nickel / Q000633:toxicity*; D050901:Nitrate Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D011392:Proline / Q000378:metabolism; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D014747:Vinblastine / Q000378:metabolism*; D014750:Vincristine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002734:Chlorophyll; D002338:Carotenoids; D014750:Vincristine; D014747:Vinblastine; D009532:Nickel; D011392:Proline; D002374:Catalase; D009195:Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D050901:Nitrate Reductase; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases; D020156:Salicylic Acid