Comparative Study of Hexavalent Chromium Induced Biochemical Changes With and Without EDTA in Sesbania grandiflora L. Pers.

Abstract

The toxic effects of chromium in plants, animals an d human beings in the environment have been widely studied. In the present study, pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of chromium on photosynthetic pigments, Nitrate Reductase (NR) activity and total amino acid, proline, total prote in and leghaemoglobin content of Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. The seedlings were treated with Chromiu m Cr (VI), concentrations ranging from 0.38-1.92 mM Kg -1 of soil with 0.35 mM Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic acid (EDTA) and without EDTA. The effi cacy of EDTA in its presence and absence was compared for periods of 30, 60 and 90 d ays. Our results in comparison with our control indicate the inhibitory effect of chrom ium to S.grandiflora . From the results it has been observed that, increasing concentrations o f chromium in the presence of EDTA showed a significant increase in proline and total amino acid contents, while the total chlorophyll, leghaemoglobin content and total prote in content decreased and the NR activity of the plant was also affected greatly. Keywords: Chromium, EDTA, Nitrate reductase, Photosynthetic pigment, Sesbania