Antioxidants responses of two halophytes under aluminium stress alone or combined with salt

Abstract

Al stress is a serious environmental problem that affects plant physiology and biochemical processes and reduces productivity in the agricultural sector. This study is a comparative study between the antioxidant responses of two different halophyte species and focuses on two halophytes Arthrocnemum indicum and Tamarix gallica. Both halophytes species exposed to different concentrations of Al (200, 500, 800) µM alone or combined with NaCl (200 mM) and the effect of Al on oxidative damage and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant responses were determined. Our results demonstrated that Tamarix gallica was more tolerant to Al stress than Arthrocnemum indicum and this by a low level of MDA registered. In addition, T. gallica showed more marked antioxidant activities. However, salinity improves the tolerance of A. indicum by increased levels of glycine betaine and proline. Nevertheless, T. gallica is still more tolerant according to the tolerance index than A. indicum and this species is a favorable plant material to soils phytoremediation. T. gallica can be successfully used for phytostabilization of Al-contaminated saline soils