Role of cation structure in the phytotoxicity of ionic liquids: growth inhibition and oxidative stress in spring barley and common radish

Abstract

The present study determines the influence of three ionic liquids (ILs) containing cations with diversified structure on the growth and development of spring barley seedlings and common radish leaves. Increasing amounts of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium hexafluorophosphate [Pyrrol][PF6], 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium hexafluorophosphate [Piper][PF6], and 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [Pyrid][PF6] were added to the soil on which both plants were cultivated. The results of this studies showed that the applied ILs were highly toxic for plants, demonstrated by the inhibition of length of plant shoots and roots, decrease of fresh mass, and increase of dry weight content. Common radish turned out to be the plant with higher resistance to the used ILs. The differences in the cation structure did not influence phytotoxity of ILs for spring barley. Furthermore, all ILs led to a decrease of photosynthetic pigments, which was directly followed by decreased primary production in plants. Oxidative stress in plants occurred due to the presence of ILs in the soil, which was demonstrated by the increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) content, changes in the H2O2 level, and antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD). The changes in the chlorophyll contents and the increase of POD activity turned out to be the most significant oxidative stress biomarkers in spring barley and common radish. Both spring barley and radish exposed to ILs accumulated a large amount of fluoride ion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-017-9439-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Phytotoxicity and Effect of Ionic Liquids on Antioxidant Parameters in Spring Barley Seedlings: The Impact of Exposure Time

“…An increase in POD activity was also observed over time ( Figure 2). The results were confirmed in the literature [30,34,37,41]. There was an increase in POD activity in plants in contact with ILs.…”

“…However, if sugar beet shoots growing under drought conditions were also sprayed with humic acids, then they had an increase in MDA content. Biczak et al [30,41] further indicated that the effect of xenobiotics on the MDA content is dependent on the plant species on which these substances act. These authors observed that the same ionic liquids and quaternary ammonium salts cause changes in MDA content in spring barley seedlings, but they did not cause MDA accumulation in common radish leaves.…”

“…These changes were linearly correlated with the IL doses. At the same time, there are also works on the decrease in H 2 O 2 content in plants as a result of contact with ionic liquids [28,41]. These studied showed that changes in H 2 O 2 content as a result of the occurrence of oxidative stress in plants always occur, whereas the direction of their changes may depend on many factors, i.e., the applied ILs concentration, the type of compound used, or the plant species on which the compound acts.…”

Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids: Some Research Methods, Applications and Physico-Chemical Properties

“…[43][44][45][46][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] In addition, imidazolium-based ILs are also interesting as a medium for examining plant growth and germination. [69][70][71][72] Furthermore, Dimitrijević et al [73] reported and discussed novel phase diagrams for aqueous solutions of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-and 1-butyl-3-ethylimidazoliumbased ILs combined with phosphate-based salts, namely, K 3 PO 4 or K 2 HPO 4 . The anion influence on the ability to form aqueous biphasic system (ABS) was investigated for the IL with the same 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation, [bmim + ], and various anions, for example salicylate, [SAL -], trifluoromethanesulfonate, [TFS -], dicyanamide, [DCA -], and chloride, [Cl -].…”

Assessment of the toxicity and biodegradation of amino acid-based ionic liquids

“…More recently, signicant efforts have been made to assess IL (eco)toxicity and biodegradability in order to avoid potential risks. [12][13][14][15] ILs toxicity has been assessed using diverse biological models, such as bacteria, 15 fungi, 16 invertebrates, 17 algae, 18 sh, 19 plants, 20 and cells. 21 ILs biodegradability has been evaluated using standardized assays approved by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), such as the dissolved organic carbon die-away test (OECD 301A), closed-bottle test (OECD 301D), and CO 2 headspace test (ISO 14593).…”