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Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase and Phenolic Compounds in Chamomile Tolerance to Cadmium and Copper Excess

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Abstract

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5), total phenolics, soluble proteins, malondialdehyde and metals accumulation in four-week old chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) plants cultivated in nutrient solution and exposed to low (3 μM) and high (60 and 120 μM) levels of cadmium (Cd) or copper (Cu) for 7 days were studied. High Cd concentrations had a stimulatory effect on PAL activity and soluble phenolics accumulation while high Cu doses decreased soluble proteins in the leaf rosettes. In the roots, extreme stimulatory effects of 60 and 120 μM Cu were observed on PAL activity, phenolics and malondialdehyde accumulation, while protein content was reduced by these Cu doses. Cd accumulation was higher in the leaf rosettes compared to copper, but the opposite was recorded in the roots. Taken together, the stimulatory effect of Cu on phenolic metabolism was recorded, even though high malondialdehyde accumulation may be an indication that phenolics was not sufficient to counteract reactive oxygen species formation thus leading to damage of membrane integrity. In comparison to Cd, Cu had more noticeable effect on the parameters studied to support its strong redox-active properties. These facts in correlation to antioxidative properties of phenolic metabolites are also discussed.

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Abbreviations

MDA:

malondialdehyde

PAL:

phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

t-CA:

trans-cinnamic acid

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Slovak Grant Agency (VEGA 1/3260/06) and the Science and Technology Assistance Agency (Slovak Republic) under contract No. APVT-20-003004. The authors are grateful to Prof. Dianne Fahselt (University of Western Ontario, Canada) and Prof. Mark Seaward (University of Bradford, UK) for constructive comments on the manuscript, and to Mrs. Anna Michalčová, Mrs. Margita Buzinkaiová and Mr. František Štork for their excellent technical assistance.

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  1. Department of Botany, Institute of Biology & Ecology, Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University, Mánesova 23, 041 67, Košice, Slovak Republic

    Jozef Kováčik & Martin Bačkor

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  1. Jozef Kováčik
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  2. Martin Bačkor
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Correspondence to Jozef Kováčik.

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Kováčik, J., Bačkor, M. Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase and Phenolic Compounds in Chamomile Tolerance to Cadmium and Copper Excess. Water Air Soil Pollut 185, 185–193 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9441-x

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