ACTA BOTANICA CROATICA, cilt.83, sa.2, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Acetic acid (AA) is an organic acid and has been widely used as food
preservative and a dietary spice in vinegar form. In addition to its
therapeutic uses in its vinegar form, AA attenuates inhibitory effects
of stress in plants. However, in some plant species toxic effects of AA
have been found. Therefore, in this study, 0, 2.5 and 5 mM
concentrations of AA were applied to 2-day-old barley (Hordeum vulgare
L. cv. Bornova-92) seedlings for 2 days in order to investigate the
possible toxic effects of AA. After treatments, seedlings were grown in
AA-free conditions for 2 days to recover. AA inhibited root and shoot
growth; decreased water content, fresh weight, chlorophyll, pheophytin,
and carotenoid contents. However, anthocyanin and flavonoid contents, as
well as the levels of UV-absorbing compounds and UV-B marker increased
in the leaves of AA-treated plants. AA increased hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2) content in shoots and induced cell death in roots. Soluble
carbohydrate content decreased in roots of AA-treated plants while
insoluble carbohydrate content increased. Our results demonstrate that
AA in young barley seedlings can exhibit its toxic effects through
oxidative stress, which induced antioxidative response in the form of
molecules with antioxidative activities. These effects persisted for 2
days after the removal of AA.