The influence of toxic substances in the environment on the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the tissues of Ceratophyllum demersum and Egeria densa

Abstract

In the context of a gradual increase in anthropogenic environmental pollution, detailed environmental studies become relevant. It is very important in this regard to monitor the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the influence of the pollution process on various biological objects that receive the influence of substances entering the environment. Of great practical interest are the toxic effects of technogenic discharges on various hydrobionts and the main mechanisms of their development in macrophyte plants. In this regard, this work studied the influence of heavy metal ions, cationic synthetic surfactants and their combinations on the activity of the main antioxidant enzymes in tissues of Ceratophyllum demersum and Egeria densa. To do this, an experiment was conducted to assess changes in the freshwater macrophytes Ceratophyllum demersum and Egeria densa. The dynamics of the activity of antioxidant enzymes: peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, ascorbate oxidase and catalase were studied. Their activity was assessed basally and in response to chemical stressors (100 µmol/l lead ions, 1% solution of cationic synthetic surfactants) individually and in combination with different exposures to toxic substances. The identified features of enzymatic activity in the tissues of aquatic macrophytes indicate different levels and power of their antioxidant protection. It becomes clear that the activity of antioxidant enzymes when plants are exposed to certain types of pollutants and their combinations is determined by the chemical nature of the pollutant, the mechanism of its action on the plant organism, the duration of exposure and the localization of these enzymes in cell compartments.