Role of specialized metabolites in a short-term saline stress response of Brassicaceae seedlings

Crop plants from the Brassicaceae family are among the oldest known cultivated plants and are commercially important vegetables. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term stress responses of three Brassica species seedlings (Brassica rapa spp. pekinensis, B.oleracea var. capitata, and B.oleracea var. acephala) exposed to saline stress by spectrophotometric methods. One-day old seedlings were treated with NaCl (in range of conc. 50 to 200 mM) during 24 h. The effect of treatments on the root growth was determined in vivo using the root growth assay and changes in the level of specialized metabolites were measured by UV/VIS spectrophotometry. In order to determine plants ability to cope with the stress we also measured the antioxidant activity by DPPH method. Ultimately, the results showed that different species differentially responded to salinity stress.