BIOCHEMICAL DISTURBANCES IN PLANT CELLS UNDER CONDITIONS OF ANTHROPOGENIC POLLUTION
Currently, the problem of environmental contamination is very urgent. Accumulation of heavy metals by plants leads to biochemical disorder in cells. The concentration of lipid peroxidation products is a suitable parameter for the estimation of damage degree on cell membrane. The aim of this research was to investigate the content of diene conjugates and Schiff bases in plants of various species in the context of urban environment. The content of lipid peroxidation products was determined by the spectrophotometry of heptane extracts in the near-ultraviolet region. All the results were statistically processed; differences between studied samples were determined with Student's t-test with the confidence probability P≤0,05. The study was carried out/done on meadow grass ( Poa pratensis ), red clover ( Trifolium rubens ), wild vetch (V icia cracca ), chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla), coltsfoot ( Tussilago farfara ) and cultivated oat ( Avena sativa ). Plants were collected in the area of highway, as well as in the areas with metallurgical, motor building, oil refinery and battery factories. It was discovered that the reaction of plant cell membrane to damaging was species-specific, i.e. chamomile, wild vetch and meadow grass accumulated lipid peroxidation products. The concentration of diene conjugates and Schiff bases in the cells of red clover and coltsfoot was lower than in the control group which might be due to these plants adaptation to pollution. Metallurgical factory contamination has the greatest impact on the lipid peroxidation, while the oil refinery, motor building and battery factories affect it to a lesser degree.