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Analysis of arsenic induced physiological and biochemical responses in a medicinal plant, Withania somnifera

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Abstract

Withania somnifera has been an important herb in the Ayurvedic and indigenous medical systems for centuries in India. However, these grow as weeds mostly in the wastelands, which receive contaminated water from municipal and industrial sources. In the present investigation, plants of Withania somnifera were exposed to various concentrations of arsenate (AsV) and arsenite (AsIII) (0, 10, 25, 50, 100 μM) for 10 days and analysed for accumulation of arsenic (As) and physiological and biochemical changes. Plants showed more As accumulation upon exposure to AsIII (320 μg g−1 DW in roots and 161 μg g−1 DW in leaves) than to AsV (173 μg g−1 DW in roots and 100 μg g−1 DW in leaves) after 10 days of treatment. Consequently, AsIII exposure caused more toxicity to plants as compared to that AsV, as evaluated in terms of the level of photosynthetic pigments and oxidative stress parameters (superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation), particularly at higher concentrations and on longer durations. Plants could tolerate low concentrations (variable for AsIII and AsV) until longer durations (10 days) and high concentrations for shorter durations (1–5 days) through increase in antioxidant enzymes and by augmented synthesis of thiols. In conclusion, As tolerance potential of Withania plants on one hand advocates its prospective use for remediation under proper supervision and on the other demonstrates possible threat of As entry into humans due to medicinal uses.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the University of Lucknow, Lucknow for the facilities provided. FS is grateful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Authors contribution

F. Siddiqui conducted all experiments and analyzed data. P.K. Tandon conceptualized and planned the study. F. Siddiqui and S. Srivastava contributed in preparing the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, 226007, U.P., India

    Fauzia Siddiqui & P. K. Tandon

  2. Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, U.P., India

    Sudhakar Srivastava

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  1. Fauzia Siddiqui
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  2. P. K. Tandon
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  3. Sudhakar Srivastava
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Correspondence to Sudhakar Srivastava.

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Siddiqui, F., Tandon, P.K. & Srivastava, S. Analysis of arsenic induced physiological and biochemical responses in a medicinal plant, Withania somnifera . Physiol Mol Biol Plants 21, 61–69 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-014-0278-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-014-0278-7

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