Effects Of Adversity Stress On Plant Metabolism And Essential Oil Of Atractylodes Lancea

Object: To study effects of adversity stress on plant metabolism and essential oil of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC. and to set basis for improving and stabilizing quality of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC..Methods: The physical and biochemical changes, contents and composition of essential oil in plant under different stress, were determined by the method integrated with pharmaceutical botany, medicinal plant cultivation, plant physiology, pharmacognosy, et all. The content of dissoluble proteins was determined with ultraviolet detection, and content of MDA was measured with TBA method. The activities of SOD, POD, CAT, and APX were determined with lactoflavine-NBT method, guaiacol-colorimetry assay, and ultraviolet spectrophotometry, respectively. The determination of essential oil was according to the method in Chinese Pharmacopoeia and composition of essential oil was detected by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The data in the study was analyzed with SPSS.Results: The contents of MDA and dissoluble proteins in Atractylodes lancea seedlings under drought stress increased. The content of MDA in plant stressed by low concentration of PEG increased steadily while the content increased rapidly stressed by high concentration of PEG. In the early period under stress, the content of dissoluble proteins increased significantly. However, in the late period, the increasing rate decreased. During the period, activities of protective enzymes, including SOD, POD, CAT, and APX increased at first and decreased later. The total content of essential oil of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC increased under light stress caused by drought, disorder, and mechanical damage, while the content will deceased under heavy stress. The content of essential oil decreased under low-potassium stress, but there were no significant differences among different low-potassium stress groups. The effects of different adversity stress on composition of essential oil were significant. Among the stressed groups, some new components appeared, and some disappeared.Conclusion: Stress caused by drought, disorder, and mechanical damage, were all able to influence primary metabolism and secondary metabolism of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC. In the early stressed period, contents of MDA and dissoluble proteins, activities of protective enzymes, and content of essential oil increased, which revealed that the quality of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC was closely related with environment.