Production of phenyl ethanol glycosides in Scrophularia striata in response to cadmium

Scrophularia striata is a native plant in Iran that has valuable compounds including phenylethanoid glycosides such as echinacoside and acteoside. These compounds have strong antioxidant properties and are produced by the plant to deal with various environmental stresses such as heavy metals. Cadmium is the heavy metals that enter the soil due to industrial contaminants. Plants display different physiological responses to this contamination. In order to study the physiological responses, these plants were placed in a Hoagland medium containing cadmium at concentrations of 0, 50,200,400 micro molar and collected at 12,24,48,72 hours. HPLC was used to measure the phenylethanoid glycosides composition in both root and shoot organs in test and control groups. The results showed that both compounds in both organs at concentrations of 200 micro molar at 48 times increased significantly compared to control groups. Also, it was found that there is a direct relation between the amount of metal in the food solution and the amount of metal absorption and accumulation in the plant. With increasing cadmium concentration in the medium, dry weight of the shoot and root decreased significantly compared to the control, but there was no significant difference at 12, 24 and 48 hours. In general, it can be concluded that the resistance of the plant to cadmium contamination is 200 micro molar for 48 hours during the defensive reactions against this stress occur.

Keywords:

Acteoside. Echinacoside , Phenylethanoid glycosides , Scrophularia striata