Stevioside prevents oxidative stress in wheat seedlings

Abstract

This is the first study on the effect of stevioside, a diterpene glycoside that is a new promising plant growth regulator, on the antioxidant and photosynthetic systems of seedlings of the winter wheat cultivar Kazanskaya 560. Stevioside has been demonstrated to cause a decrease in the malondialdehyde formation rate, an increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase), and the accumulation of proline and carotenoids. Apparently, this integrated effect of stevioside can prevent oxidative stress caused by adverse environmental factors in plants.

Effect of Isosteviol on Wheat Seed Germination and Seedling Growth under Cadmium Stress

“…In addition, the 10 −8 M concentration of isosteviol significantly increased some indexes of wheat seedlings as compared to Cd alone, including VI, SL, RL, and FMN. Some studies have shown that stevioside (10 –8 M) reduces the effect of Cd 2+ and Zn 2+ on plant growth and changes the activity of lectins, thereby leading to an increase in leaf length by 14% and root length by 18%, in comparison with the findings obtained for the control group, indicating that it has a protective effect on winter wheat under the stress caused by heavy metals [ 19 , 20 , 34 ]. This clearly illustrates isosteviol’s effect in alleviating the toxicity of Cd to plant roots.…”

“…In addition, some studies showed that with the increase of Cd 2+ treatment concentration, the Cd 2+ content and accumulation in root and the above ground part of wheat seedlings increased, but the ratio of Cd 2+ content between leaves and root decreased, indicating that the root had a strong ability to accumulate Cd 2+ [ 62 ]. However, the addition of PGRs could significantly reduce the accumulation of Cd 2+ in winter wheat grains and leaves [ 20 ]. Hence, further investigations need to be undertaken to resolve the underlying molecular mechanism of Cd uptake in wheat, so as to clarify the role of isosteviol in it.…”

“…In previous research, there has been noteworthy evidence of steviol glycosides derivatives showing gibberellin-like activity, which could regulate the activities of antioxidant enzymes and photosynthetic system of plants in adverse environments [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], and then scavenge the excess levels of ROS, produced by oxidative insults [ 21 , 22 ]. In heavy metal-polluted agricultural lands, it is very necessary to reduce the toxicity and accumulation of pollutants through the development and application of new PGRs.…”