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Enhanced Formation of α-Tocopherol and Highly Oxidized Abietane Diterpenes in Water-Stressed Rosemary Plants

Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: The lipid-soluble antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and carnosic acid were studied in field-grown rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) plants subjected to drought. During summer in the Mediterranean region, the predawn water potential decreased to -3 MPa and the relative water content to 42%, which caused a depletion of the maximum diurnal CO(2) assimilation rate by 80%. Meanwhile, the maximum efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry and the chlorophyll content of leaves remained unaltered, indicative of the absence of photooxidative damage. The concentration of alpha-tocopherol increased by 15-fold and that of carotenoids by approximately 26% in response to water stress. Enhanced formation of the highly oxidized abietane diterpenes isorosmanol (by 25%) and dimethyl isorosmanol (by 40%) was observed during the summer as result of the oxidation of carnosic acid, which decreased by 22%. The large amounts of carnosic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and carotenoids present in rosemary leaves might contribute to the prevention of oxidative damage in plants exposed to drought.
DOI: 10.1104/pp.121.3.1047
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2050446762
FWCI: 8.304
Cites: 33
Cited by: 159
Related to: 10