Physiological Reaction of Maize Seedlings to Exogenous Rutin under Water Stress

Zea may L.varieties,'Zhengdan 958' was hydroponically cultured to study the effects of exogenous rutin application on cell membrane permeability,proline,soluble sugar and activities of protective enzyme in the leaves of maize seedlings under PEG stress.The results showed that(1) the 15% PEG-6000 stress increased significantly the malondialdehyde(MDA) content,cell membrane permeability,the content of proline and soluble sugar and the activities of protective enzyme including superoxide dismutase(SOD),peroxidase(POD) and catalase(CAT) in the leaves of maize.(2)The treatments with different concentration rutin(0.40 g/L) inhibited significantly the MDA content,decreased cell membrane permeability and the content of proline and soluble sugar but increased the activities of SOD,POD and CAT during water stress.It suggested that exogenous rutin application treatments could improve the antioxygen ability of maize seedlings,debasing lipid peroxidation and protect plasma membrane from being destroyed during the water stress to enhance the drought resistance of plants.