Comparative Evaluation of Antioxidant Status and Mineral Composition of Diploschistes ocellatus, Calvatia candida (rostk.) Hollós, Battarrea phalloides and Artemisia lerchiana in Conditions of High Soil Salinity

Abstract

Natural reserves play a fundamental role in maintaining flora and fauna biodiversity, but the biochemical characteristics of such ecosystems have been studied in an extremely fragmentary way. For the first time, mineral composition and antioxidant status of three systematic groups of organisms, lichens (Diplischistes ocellatus), mushrooms (Calvatia candida and Battarrea phalloides) and wormwood (Artemisia lerchiana) have been described at the territory of Bogdinsko-Baskunchak Nature Reserve (Astrakhan region, Russia), characterized by high salinity and solar radiation, and water deficiency. Through ICP-MS, it was determined that scale lichen D. ocellatus accumulated up to 10–15% Ca, 0.5% Fe, 15 mg kg−1 d.w. iodine (I), 54.5 mg kg−1 Cr. Battarrea phalloides demonstrated anomalously high concentrations of B, Cu, Fe, Mn Se, Zn, Sr and low Na levels, contrary to Calvatia candida mushrooms accumulating up to 10,850 mg kg−1 Na and only 3 mg kg−1 Sr. The peculiarity of A. lerchiana plants was the high accumulation of B (22.23 mg kg−1 d.w.), Mn (57.48 mg kg−1 d.w.), and antioxidants (total antioxidant activity: 68.6 mg GAE g−1 d.w.; polyphenols: 21.0 mg GAE g−1 d.w.; and proline: 5.45 mg g−1 d.w.). Diploschistes ocellatus and Calvatia candida demonstrated the lowest antioxidant status: 3.6–3.8 mg GAE g−1 d.w. total antioxidant activity, 1.73–2.10 mg GAE g−1 d.w. polyphenols and 2.0–5.3 mg g−1 d.w. proline. Overall, according to the elemental analysis of lichen from Baskunchak Nature Reserve compared to the Southern Crimean seashore, the vicinity of Baskunchak Salty Lake elicited increased environmental levels of Cr, Si, Li, Fe, Co, Ni and Ca.