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Effects of progressive drought stress on the physiology, antioxidative enzymes and secondary metabolites of Radix Astragali

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Abstract

The dried roots of Radix Astragali are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, and flavonoids present in the root of this herb have been implicated in its bioactivity. We subjected 2-year-old Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao to a progressive drought stress over 14 days of water withholding and studied the physiological and biochemical responses and secondary metabolite accumulation. Results indicated that drought stress reduced relative water content, reduced yield, but increased electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, proline and soluble sugar content. Mild and moderate drought stress enhanced some antioxidative enzyme activity to protect plants from damaging, but antioxidative enzyme activity was limited by severe stress. The calycosin-7-O-β-d-glycoside and ononin content of plant roots was enhanced with degree of drought stress, whereas calycosin and formononetin levels did not differ significantly until 14 days. These results demonstrate that Radix Astragali can adapt to water stress by up-regulating antioxidant enzymes and accumulation of osmotic agents, and a certain degree of drought stress can enhance accumulation of some flavonoids, potentially facilitating higher yields of pharmacological activity of calycosin-7-O-β-d-glycoside production.

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Abbreviations

SWC:

Soil water content

RWC:

Relative water content

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

DW:

Dry weight

SW:

Saturated weight

FW:

Fresh weight

EL:

Electrolyte leakage

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

U:

Unit

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

POX:

Peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidaseand

GR:

Glutathione reductase

SSC:

Soluble sugar content

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by grants from the Key Scientific and Technological Foundation of Inner Mongolia, China (Grant 20120414), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 81460578), the Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia, China (Grant 2014MS0308).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, The Good Agriculture Practice Engineering Technology Research Center of Chinese and Mongolian Medicine, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China

    Xin Jia, Chuangshu Sun, Guangyue Li, Guobin Li & Guilin Chen

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  1. Xin Jia
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  2. Chuangshu Sun
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  3. Guangyue Li
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  4. Guobin Li
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  5. Guilin Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guilin Chen.

Additional information

Communicated by J. V. Jorrin-Novo.

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Jia, X., Sun, C., Li, G. et al. Effects of progressive drought stress on the physiology, antioxidative enzymes and secondary metabolites of Radix Astragali. Acta Physiol Plant 37, 262 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-2015-4

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