Effect of Several Phenolic Compounds of Lichens on the Physiological, Cytological, and Biochemical Characteristics of Allium fistulosum Seedlings

ABSTRACT Here we report the effects of atranorin (ATR), gyrophoric acid (GPA), and thamnolic acid (TMA) on the physiological, biochemical, and cytological characteristics of Allium fistulosum L. seedlings for the first time. Of the lichen substances investigated, ATR and TAM had the highest phytotoxicity effects. ATR (4000 - 1000 μM) and TAM (4000 μM) inhibited the growth processes and increased the intensity of lipid peroxidation in A. fistulosum, and as a result the activities of the protective enzymes peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase increased, and the contents of photosynthetic pigments in the A. fistulosum seedlings decreased. ATR at concentrations 2000 and 4000 μM caused decrease of mitotic activity and increase of chromosomal aberrations frequency in root cells. The weakest phytotoxic properties were shown by GPA, which caused no changes in the physiological, cytological, or biochemical parameters of the A. fistulosum seedlings across the entire range of concentrations tested.