Abstract

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate the toxicity caused by arsenate (As V) and its detoxification responses in coriander. Ten days after germination, coriander seedlings were treated with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μM (Na2HAsO4) of sodium arsenate for seven days and investigated for growth performance, malondialdehyde content, proline content and activities of enzymatic antioxidants. A significant decrease (31–92%) in plant root length shoot length (24–71%) along with plant biomass (38–88%) was recorded in coriander with increase in As (V) levels over control. As (V) induced oxidative stress caused elevation in proline content and decline in malondialdehyde (MDA) content in a treatment dependant way. Enzymatic activities of antioxidant such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) showed enhancement up to 86, 59, 63 and 74% with elevated level of As (V) doses. Results indicate the decrement in MDA content and elevated activities of antioxidant enzymes play a significant role in As (V) detoxification in coriander.