Jacob Bell
New Member
Elena TRU~~1, Elvira GILLE2, Ecaterina TÓTH2, Marilena MANIU3
1Department of Genetics, Institute of Biological Research, Ia~i, Romania
2Department of Genetics, Centre of Research "Stejarul", Piatra Neamþ, Romania
3Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University "Al. I. Cuza", Ia~i, Romania
Abstract. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a species considered as having one of the most complicated mechanisms of sex determination. Peroxidase and esterase isoenzymes in leaves of the two sexual phenotypes of hemp were studied. Significant differences in isoperoxidase and isoesterase patterns were found between male and female plants, both in the number and stain intensity of bands. For both esterase and peroxidase, the isoenzymatic spectrum is richer for staminate plants. Also, some differences are ob¬vious between the two sexes concerning catalase and peroxidase activities, as well as the level of soluble protein. The quantitative analysis of flavones, polyholozides and polyphenols emphasized differences depending not only on sex, but also on tested organ.
Key words: electrofocusing, hemp, isoenzymatic pattern, secondary metabolites, sexual phenotype.
Introduction
The chemical composition of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is very complex, includ-ing about a hundred of compounds isolated from hemp organs: flavonoids, fatty acids, phenolic spiroindans, dihydrostilbenes, nitrate substances (amines, ammo-nium salts, spermidine-derived alkaloids), etc. The hemp flavour is due to volatile terpenic compounds of essential oils, monoterpenes representing 47.9-92.1% and sesquiterpenes 52-48.6% of total terpenes. Compounds like friedeline,
epifriedelinol, ~-sitosterol, carvone and dihydrocarvone were isolated from roots (SETHI et al. 1978). Seeds contain oils (PETRI 1988), while among plant organs
Received: February 12, 2002. Accepted: July 2, 2002.
Correspondence: E. TRU~~, Department of Genetics, Biological Research Institute Bd. Carol I 20 A, 6600 Ia~i, Romania, e-mail: elentru@email.ro
flowers are richer in oils than leaves (LEMBERKOVICS et al. 1979). The fatty acid composition of fruits is of great interest, because of their use for nutritive and pharmaceutical purposes. If the complete fruit and seed are similar in this as-pect, some differences are in the outer layer (MÖLLEKEN, THEIMER 1997). Al-though we have not found any systematic study on flavonoid synthesis in the genus Cannabis there are a few papers regarding these compounds in hemp (BATE-SMITH 1962, PARIS et al. 1975, 1976, PARIS, PARIS 1976, SEGELMAN et al. 1978), but the findings are contradictory, having a limited systematic value, because of the use of different analytic methods or of different plant organs or of various provenances.
The hemp-specific substances, cannabinoids, include more than 70 substances, such as ~9-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD (cannabidiol) and CBN (cannabinol), which are the criteria distinguishing between the hemp chemotypes (especially ~9-THC and CBD and THC/CBD ratio).
Although the hemp is a dioecious species, as a consequence of intensive improvement, a lot of sexual phenotypes are cultivated, the most frequent being the monoecious forms, classified in more categories, on a five-point scale, de-pending on female flowers/male flowers ratio. Cannabis sativa L. has a very com¬plex genetic constitution and heredity, which explains the dioicism, amplitude of phenotypical variability, polymorphism and the great biological plasticity of this species. WESTERGAARD (1958) considered the sex inheritance in hemp as being one of the most complicated mechanisms among all dioecious plants. For hemp we could not find any consistent study on differentiation between sexual phenotypes, regarding morphological, physiological or biochemical traits, in spite of some disparate data. It is known that, by specific reactions, it becomes possible to make the distinction between male and female individuals of Populus, as well as between the — and + Mucor hyphae (SINNOTT 1960). Certain differences also exist between staminate and pistillate plants of Lychnis dioica (STANFIELD 1944, cited in SINNOTT 1960). For genera Cannabis and Spinacia, variable levels of cel¬lular extract pH are cited, depending on sex (CHEUVART 1954). In other plant spe¬cies, the analyses evidenced different values of oxidase activities in female and male individuals (AITCHINSON 1953, cited in SINNOTT 1960).
For these reasons, the principal objective of this study was to identify the exis¬tence of some biochemical differences (enzymes, secondary metabolites) in hemp, depending on sexual phenotype.
Material and methods
The studied material was collected from female and male plants of hemp (Canna¬bis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa) , randomly chosen from a population grown in the experimental field of the Botanical Garden of University "Al. I. Cuza" Ia~i. The seeds belonging to a fiber hemp cultivar were provided by the Agricultural
Research Centre of Secuieni at Neam~. To estimate in vivo catalase and peroxidase activities, as well as soluble proteins, leaves of female and male hemp plants were used. These determinations were carried out individually, in leaves collected from 20 females and 15 males of the same age (20 weeks old). Because of the lack of simultaneity in maturity and flowering, specific for this species, the plants were in different developmental stages. The females were in the early fruit formation phase and the male plants were in full bloom.
To obtain the crude extract for the determination of the enzymatic activities and the amount of soluble protein, known quantities of well ground plant material (fine powder) in 0.01 M sodium phosphate (pH 7) were homogenized. The ho¬mogenate was maintained at 4oC for 4 hours, and then it was centrifuged at 22 0000 rpm for 10 minutes. The supernatant was used as extract.
Catalase activity was determined by the iodometric method (ARTENIE, TÃNASE 1981). The principle of this method is based on potassium iodide oxida-tion by undecomposed hydrogen peroxide, after an incubation interval with catalase, followed by titration of delivered iodine with sodium thiosulfate, in the presence of starch solution as an indicator. The mixture: 0.01 M phosphate buffer pH 7, enzymatic extract and 3% hydrogen peroxide was incubated for 5 minutes. The reaction was blocked with 10% sulfuric acid. Then 10% potassium iodide and 1% ammonium molybdate were added. Titration was made with 0.1 so¬dium thiosulfate. The catalase activity was calculated knowing that one catalase unit is equivalent to the amount of enzyme which decomposes 1 µmol (0.034 mg) H2O2 during 1 minute. The results are expressed in mg H2O2/g fresh matter.
Peroxidase activity was quantified by the photometric method, based on benzidine oxidation under the peroxidase activity, in the presence of H2O2/time unit. The mixture, composed of 1% benzidine in glacial acetic acid, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and the enzymatic extract, was incubated for 3 minutes. 30% NaOH was used to stop the reaction. Absolute ethanol was added. The values of extinctions were determined with a SPEKOL 20 spectrophotometer, at ~ = 470 nm. After the estimation of the ratio: sample extinction/control extinction, the peroxidase activity was expressed in mg H2O2 /g fresh matter.
The specific activities for catalase and peroxidase were estimated by reporting the quantity of substratum consumed by enzyme to the concentration of soluble protein in 1 g of tissue. They were expressed in mg H2O2 /mg protein.
The obtaining of enzymatic extracts used in electrofocusing involved very fine grinding of the plant material with a Potter homogenizer. The homogenate (1: 3, w/v, in 0.1 M Tris/HCl buffer pH 7.2) was centrifuged at 17 000 rpm, with a re¬frigerated JANETZKI K-24 centrifuge. The supernatant was used to identify the izoenzymatic patterns. To assess the isoenzymatic pattern for esterase and peroxidase, we used electrofocusing on polyacrylamidic gel containing urea, H2O, acrylamide, ampholine, and ammonium persulfate, according to the Wrigley method (TÓTH 1992). Ampholine pH 3.5-10 (LKB) was used to establish the pH gradient. The pH was controlled with a digital RADELKIS 20 pH meter. The sep-
aration was achieved in the glass test tubes 0.5 × 7.5 cm of the electrophoretic ap¬paratus, in a disk of SHANDON type. The peroxidase visualization was performed with o-dianisidine (MCDONALD, SMITH 1972), at pH 4.8, established with 0.2 M sodium acetate buffer. The esterase visualization was conducted ac-cording to SCANDALIOS (1969). In the solution for incubation (0.15 M phosphate buffer, pH 7), 1% ~-naphthylacetate and Fast blue RR stain (2 mg/ml) were intro¬duced.
The isoenzymatic fractions separated by electrofocusing were drawn and rep-resented as zymograms. The stain intensity is indicated by hatching.
The phytochemical analyses were conducted on biological material dried at 40oC, powdered and then subjected to extraction with different solvents. Determi¬nation of polyholozidic content was realized in aqueous extract, the results being expressed as 'absent', +, ++ or +++, depending on reaction intensity. Methanolic extracts were processed to permit the quantification of flavones by colorimetric method (on account of complexation with AlCl3) and of catechin-like polyphenolic derivatives by the colorimetric method, in the presence of 4-dimethyl-amino-antipyrine and ammonium persulfate, at pH = 8-9 (GRIGO¬RESCU, STÃNESCU 1982).
For the determination of soluble protein the Lowry method (LOWRY et al. 1951) was used. The enzymatic extract was treated with Folin-Ciocâlteu solution. The extinctions were registered with a SPEKOL 20 spectrophotometer, at ~ = 500 nm. The amounts of soluble proteins are expressed in mg/g fresh matter. These values are required to estimate the specific activities of the two hydroperoxidases.
The statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed using the method described by RAICU et al. (1973). The arithmetical mean (x), the standard devia-tion (SD), the standard error of the mean (SE), the coefficient of variation (CV) and the standard error of the mean, expressed in % (SE %), were calculated.
Results and discussion
Quantitative analysis of catalase and peroxidase activities
As shown in Table 1, some differences are obvious between the two groups of plants of different sex. First, the male individuals have a greater catalase activ¬ity in relation to fresh biomass unit, as compared to females. The difference be-tween mean values for males and females was 2.27 mg H2O2/g fresh matter. The peroxidase activity registered superior values in female plants, but the differ¬ence between mean values of female and male plants was smaller (0.9 mg H2O2/g fresh matter). The specific activities of the two enzymes were also different. Thus, the mean and the standard error of the mean of catalase were 4.88 ± 0.10 mg H2O2/mg protein, for the group of female plants, and 6.02 ± 0.10mg H2O2/mg pro-
tein, for the male individuals. The specific peroxidase activities registered values of 1.86 ± 0.02 mg H2O2/mg protein in pistillate plants and 1.94 ± 0.05 mg H2O2/mg protein in staminate plants. For both catalase and peroxidase, the spe-cific activity was greater in males, but the increase is more important for catalase (1.14 mg H2O2/mg protein), while for peroxidase the increase is only 0.08 mg H2O2/mg protein.
The amount of soluble protein was greater in pistillate plants (5.659 ± 0.16 mg/g fresh matter). In staminate plants, these values were 4.961 ± 0.07 mg/g fresh matter, namely with 0.698 mg protein/g fresh matter smaller than those noted for female sexual phenotypes (Table 1).
The standard deviation gives indications on the spread of the observations around the mean. For the three analysed quantitative characters, the greatest con¬centration of the observations around the mean was registered for proteins. In this case, SD had the smallest values (0.30 for males, and 0.73 for females). The great¬est deviations were noted for catalase: SD = 2.39 in males, and SD = 1.71 in fe¬males. The values of CV showed that the most variable character seems to be the peroxidase activity (CV = 16.09% for males, and CV = 16.04% for females). Besides that, the SE% had the highest values for this biochemical trait (4.15 for males and 3.60 for female plants) (Table 1).
The commentary on the obtained results must start from the fact that peroxidase activity is related to the developmental processes. Thus, in organogenesis, the role of peroxidase is frequently explained by the double func-tion of this enzyme, involved both in oxidizing of some substrata and in auxine ca¬tabolism (LEGRAND, BOUAZZA 1991 ).The latter function enables the modulation of morphogenesis by peroxidase, as a result of intervention on endogenous hor¬monal balance. In hemp, as well as in other monoecious or dioecious plants, the gibberellins, auxins, ethylene and cytokinins have an important contribution to sex expression (MOHAN RAM, SETT 1982a, b, DURAND, DURAND 1984, CHAÃLAKHYAN 1985). These hormones generally intervene in the derepression of reglator genes, which enable the synthesis of specific proteins that control flower organogenesis. Because of its intervention in the regulation of IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) level, peroxidase has an indirect role in the sex-determining mechanism in hemp, more exactly in stamenogenesis and carpellogenesis. Hemp is one of the species in which a high level of IAA induces the female sex phenotypisation. The idea of a strong peroxidase activity associated with an in-creased auxine catabolism is generally accepted. Concerning catalase, the specific reaction catalysed by this enzyme is the direct degradation of the toxic H2O2 (the final product of biological oxidization), with release of water and oxygen, that is taken over to oxygenate the tissues. It seems, however, that the peroxidative ac¬tivity of catalases (the reason for which the two enzymes are known as "hydroperoxidases") prevails in tissue. In the case of a smaller H2O2 concentration and of greater quantities of other substrata, catalase can use a hydrogen donor other than H2O2.
The isoesterase and isoperoxidase patterns
The isoenyzmatic patterns were done for single individuals. The differences be-tween individuals of the same sex were not significant. Therefore, the schematic zymograms of izoesterases and isoperoxidases, for one male and one female, are compared in Figure 1. The esterases are hydrolases that catalyse the hydrolytic splitting of molecules of substrata at the level of esteric bonds, with formation of one alcohol molecule and one acid molecule. For both esterase (A) and peroxidase (B), the isoenzymatic spectrum is richer for staminate plants. Thus, in female plants, eight multiple isoesterase forms appear, six of them being placed in the do-main of pH = 5.5-6.0 and the other two in the interval of pH = 6.5-7.0. The most active isoesterase band is placed in the weak acid domain, having pI (isoelectric point) at pH = 6.0. The eleven isoesterase forms of staminate plants are situated in the interval of pH = 4.5-7.2, the most active esterase forms having pI situated in the range of pH = 4.5-5.5, namely more acid that in the case of female plants. A specific aspect is the presence of three well outlined isoesterase bands at pH = 6.1-6.5 in male plants — bands that have no correspondence in the isoesterase pattern of pistillate plants.
Differences also exist for the isoperoxidase pattern. Thus, the female plant has, as in the case of esterase, fewer bands, two isoforms being in the range of pH = 4.5-5.5, one at pH = 7.4 and one at pH = 8.9 (extremely basic). The ten frac¬tions of male genotypes were distributed in the following manner: seven at pH = 4.7-6.1 (acid), one isoform at pH = 7.4-7.6 (weakly basic) and two bands at the extremely basic value (pH = 8.9). The presence of four isoperoxidase fractions at pH = 5.8-6.1 confers a strong physiological advantage of male genotypes over the female genotypes. The isoesterase and isoperoxidase patterns reveal some dif¬ferences at the metabolic level, related to a specific multigenic determinism. Peroxidase is distributed both in the cytosol and cell wall, as different genetic isoenzymatic forms (OKEY et al. 1997). Cell wall is regarded as the site of primary plant peroxidase activity (FRY 1986). Generally it is agreed that acid peroxidases (especially those found in the cell wall) intervene in lignin biosynthesis, while the basic ones (with cytoplasmic and vacuolar distribution) are involved in IAA catabolism, through a decarboxylation step (LIMAM et al. 1998). It is obvious (Figure 1) that, although there are fewer isoenzymatic bands in the female geno¬type, the bands associated with cell walls (active in the acid range) prevail in both analysed genotypes — a fact in accordance with data suggesting that cell walls are a principal site of plant peroxidases. Concerning acid peroxidases it is not clear if they are the products of different genes or if they are modified post-translational products of a small number of genes (ROS BARCELO et al. 1987). In hemp, like in other plant species, peroxidase has several isoforms, each with a well-defined role. The isoperoxidase pattern is complex, just this complexity being the element amplifying the difficulty to decipher all specific functions of this enzyme (CLEMENTE 1998, YUN et al. 1998). The genetic determinism of these isoforms is multigenic. If there are still unexplained details for hemp, for Brassica napus
Figure 1. Zymograms of isoesterases (A) and isoperoxidases (B), in female (1) and male (2)
of individuals Cannabis sativa L.
the existence of at least four distinct genes has been established (HAMED et al. 1998). The isoenzymes of Petunia are under the control of three genes, while in wheat isoperoxidases are controlled by different genomes and the environmental conditions do not modify the isoenzymatic pattern (HAMED et al. 1998).
Quantitative analysis of polyphenols, flavones and crude polyholozides
The data regarding the amount of some secondary metabolites, depending on sex and organ of the plant, were obtained from the individuals whose zymograms are presented in Figure 1. For every quantitative essay, two replications were made. Table 2 presents the average values of these phytochemical determinations, de-pending on sexual phenotype and on analysed organ, in dry and fresh matter. The comparative analysis of these results exhibits important differences. Thus, leaves from female plants have an increased level of polyphenols (1.560 mg%, ex-pressed in catechin) and flavones (1.084 mg%, expressed in rutosid), while in male leaves polyphenols are not present, and the quantity of flavones represents 2/3 of the value for female leaves (0.680 mg%). Regarding the stem, no polyphenols were identified in the terminal (top) part of male plants. In female plants, however, their level was high (0.940 mg%, expressed in catechin). For fla¬vones, the situation is inversed: in pistillate plants these compounds are not found,
Table 2. Average values registered for polyphenols, flavones and crude polyholozides, depending on sexual phenotype and on analysed organ in hemp
Polyphenols
mg % catechin Flavones
mg % rutosid Polyholozides
Dry matter
0 0.460 ++
0.940 0 +
0 0.680 +++
1.560 1.084 ++
0 0.525 +++
0 0 absent
0 1.006 absent
Fresh matter 0.340 +++
0
0 0.525 +++
0 0.444 +++
and in staminate plants their level was 0.460 mg%. In middle parts of stems, the results were negative for all three categories of tested compounds in female plants, whereas in male plants, polyphenols are lacking. The flavones of the rutosid type have a value of 0.525 mg%, and the crude polyholozides have a good representation (+++). Generally, higher levels ofpolyholozides were pres¬ent in male plants (for example, ++ for terminal part of stem, +++ for leaves, +++ for middle part of stem, and for female plants, respectively: +, ++, absent). The quantitative analyses conducted in fresh matter were negative for polyphenols for all tested organs, both for male and female plants, but the flavones and crude polyholozides were present, the latter in high levels (+++) in all sam¬ples. Thus, between sexual phenotypes as well as between the organs of hemp plants, visible differences exist. It is also important that in the fresh and dry matter of the male plants, polyphenols were absent — an aspect possibly related to the fact that in hemp species, in which a high IAA level favours the phenotypisation of fe¬male sex, the capacity to degrade IAA is counterbalanced by auxine protectors (phenols).
As in the case of other secondary metabolites, the hemp callus was unable to synthetize polyphenols and flavones (TRUÞÃ, unpublished), which is in accor-dance with results of other studies (BRAEMER et al. 1985, BRAUT-BOUCHER et al. 1981, GILLE 1996).
Conclusions
In this study, the isoenzymatic pattern of esterase and peroxidase is richer in hemp male plants, as compared to female plants. For both analysed sexes, the isoperoxidase bands localized in acid domain are prevalent. The relative and specific activity of catalase have more reduced values in female plants. The specific peroxidasic activity is greater in male plants. The average level of soluble protein was higher in female plants. Significant differences are regis-tered, depending not only on sex, but also on tested organ in the same plant, in re¬spect of level of polyphenols, flavones and polyholozides. In male plant, polyphenols were absent.
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KEY E.N., DUNCAN E.J., SIRJU-CHARRAN G., SREENIVASAN T.N. (1997). Phytophtora canker resistance in cacao: role of peroxidase, polyphenol-oxidase and phenylalanineammonia-lyase. J. Phytopathol. 145: 295-299.
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Source: Biochemical Differences in Cannabis Sativa L. Depending on Sexual Phenotype
1Department of Genetics, Institute of Biological Research, Ia~i, Romania
2Department of Genetics, Centre of Research "Stejarul", Piatra Neamþ, Romania
3Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University "Al. I. Cuza", Ia~i, Romania
Abstract. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a species considered as having one of the most complicated mechanisms of sex determination. Peroxidase and esterase isoenzymes in leaves of the two sexual phenotypes of hemp were studied. Significant differences in isoperoxidase and isoesterase patterns were found between male and female plants, both in the number and stain intensity of bands. For both esterase and peroxidase, the isoenzymatic spectrum is richer for staminate plants. Also, some differences are ob¬vious between the two sexes concerning catalase and peroxidase activities, as well as the level of soluble protein. The quantitative analysis of flavones, polyholozides and polyphenols emphasized differences depending not only on sex, but also on tested organ.
Key words: electrofocusing, hemp, isoenzymatic pattern, secondary metabolites, sexual phenotype.
Introduction
The chemical composition of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is very complex, includ-ing about a hundred of compounds isolated from hemp organs: flavonoids, fatty acids, phenolic spiroindans, dihydrostilbenes, nitrate substances (amines, ammo-nium salts, spermidine-derived alkaloids), etc. The hemp flavour is due to volatile terpenic compounds of essential oils, monoterpenes representing 47.9-92.1% and sesquiterpenes 52-48.6% of total terpenes. Compounds like friedeline,
epifriedelinol, ~-sitosterol, carvone and dihydrocarvone were isolated from roots (SETHI et al. 1978). Seeds contain oils (PETRI 1988), while among plant organs
Received: February 12, 2002. Accepted: July 2, 2002.
Correspondence: E. TRU~~, Department of Genetics, Biological Research Institute Bd. Carol I 20 A, 6600 Ia~i, Romania, e-mail: elentru@email.ro
flowers are richer in oils than leaves (LEMBERKOVICS et al. 1979). The fatty acid composition of fruits is of great interest, because of their use for nutritive and pharmaceutical purposes. If the complete fruit and seed are similar in this as-pect, some differences are in the outer layer (MÖLLEKEN, THEIMER 1997). Al-though we have not found any systematic study on flavonoid synthesis in the genus Cannabis there are a few papers regarding these compounds in hemp (BATE-SMITH 1962, PARIS et al. 1975, 1976, PARIS, PARIS 1976, SEGELMAN et al. 1978), but the findings are contradictory, having a limited systematic value, because of the use of different analytic methods or of different plant organs or of various provenances.
The hemp-specific substances, cannabinoids, include more than 70 substances, such as ~9-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD (cannabidiol) and CBN (cannabinol), which are the criteria distinguishing between the hemp chemotypes (especially ~9-THC and CBD and THC/CBD ratio).
Although the hemp is a dioecious species, as a consequence of intensive improvement, a lot of sexual phenotypes are cultivated, the most frequent being the monoecious forms, classified in more categories, on a five-point scale, de-pending on female flowers/male flowers ratio. Cannabis sativa L. has a very com¬plex genetic constitution and heredity, which explains the dioicism, amplitude of phenotypical variability, polymorphism and the great biological plasticity of this species. WESTERGAARD (1958) considered the sex inheritance in hemp as being one of the most complicated mechanisms among all dioecious plants. For hemp we could not find any consistent study on differentiation between sexual phenotypes, regarding morphological, physiological or biochemical traits, in spite of some disparate data. It is known that, by specific reactions, it becomes possible to make the distinction between male and female individuals of Populus, as well as between the — and + Mucor hyphae (SINNOTT 1960). Certain differences also exist between staminate and pistillate plants of Lychnis dioica (STANFIELD 1944, cited in SINNOTT 1960). For genera Cannabis and Spinacia, variable levels of cel¬lular extract pH are cited, depending on sex (CHEUVART 1954). In other plant spe¬cies, the analyses evidenced different values of oxidase activities in female and male individuals (AITCHINSON 1953, cited in SINNOTT 1960).
For these reasons, the principal objective of this study was to identify the exis¬tence of some biochemical differences (enzymes, secondary metabolites) in hemp, depending on sexual phenotype.
Material and methods
The studied material was collected from female and male plants of hemp (Canna¬bis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa) , randomly chosen from a population grown in the experimental field of the Botanical Garden of University "Al. I. Cuza" Ia~i. The seeds belonging to a fiber hemp cultivar were provided by the Agricultural
Research Centre of Secuieni at Neam~. To estimate in vivo catalase and peroxidase activities, as well as soluble proteins, leaves of female and male hemp plants were used. These determinations were carried out individually, in leaves collected from 20 females and 15 males of the same age (20 weeks old). Because of the lack of simultaneity in maturity and flowering, specific for this species, the plants were in different developmental stages. The females were in the early fruit formation phase and the male plants were in full bloom.
To obtain the crude extract for the determination of the enzymatic activities and the amount of soluble protein, known quantities of well ground plant material (fine powder) in 0.01 M sodium phosphate (pH 7) were homogenized. The ho¬mogenate was maintained at 4oC for 4 hours, and then it was centrifuged at 22 0000 rpm for 10 minutes. The supernatant was used as extract.
Catalase activity was determined by the iodometric method (ARTENIE, TÃNASE 1981). The principle of this method is based on potassium iodide oxida-tion by undecomposed hydrogen peroxide, after an incubation interval with catalase, followed by titration of delivered iodine with sodium thiosulfate, in the presence of starch solution as an indicator. The mixture: 0.01 M phosphate buffer pH 7, enzymatic extract and 3% hydrogen peroxide was incubated for 5 minutes. The reaction was blocked with 10% sulfuric acid. Then 10% potassium iodide and 1% ammonium molybdate were added. Titration was made with 0.1 so¬dium thiosulfate. The catalase activity was calculated knowing that one catalase unit is equivalent to the amount of enzyme which decomposes 1 µmol (0.034 mg) H2O2 during 1 minute. The results are expressed in mg H2O2/g fresh matter.
Peroxidase activity was quantified by the photometric method, based on benzidine oxidation under the peroxidase activity, in the presence of H2O2/time unit. The mixture, composed of 1% benzidine in glacial acetic acid, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and the enzymatic extract, was incubated for 3 minutes. 30% NaOH was used to stop the reaction. Absolute ethanol was added. The values of extinctions were determined with a SPEKOL 20 spectrophotometer, at ~ = 470 nm. After the estimation of the ratio: sample extinction/control extinction, the peroxidase activity was expressed in mg H2O2 /g fresh matter.
The specific activities for catalase and peroxidase were estimated by reporting the quantity of substratum consumed by enzyme to the concentration of soluble protein in 1 g of tissue. They were expressed in mg H2O2 /mg protein.
The obtaining of enzymatic extracts used in electrofocusing involved very fine grinding of the plant material with a Potter homogenizer. The homogenate (1: 3, w/v, in 0.1 M Tris/HCl buffer pH 7.2) was centrifuged at 17 000 rpm, with a re¬frigerated JANETZKI K-24 centrifuge. The supernatant was used to identify the izoenzymatic patterns. To assess the isoenzymatic pattern for esterase and peroxidase, we used electrofocusing on polyacrylamidic gel containing urea, H2O, acrylamide, ampholine, and ammonium persulfate, according to the Wrigley method (TÓTH 1992). Ampholine pH 3.5-10 (LKB) was used to establish the pH gradient. The pH was controlled with a digital RADELKIS 20 pH meter. The sep-
aration was achieved in the glass test tubes 0.5 × 7.5 cm of the electrophoretic ap¬paratus, in a disk of SHANDON type. The peroxidase visualization was performed with o-dianisidine (MCDONALD, SMITH 1972), at pH 4.8, established with 0.2 M sodium acetate buffer. The esterase visualization was conducted ac-cording to SCANDALIOS (1969). In the solution for incubation (0.15 M phosphate buffer, pH 7), 1% ~-naphthylacetate and Fast blue RR stain (2 mg/ml) were intro¬duced.
The isoenzymatic fractions separated by electrofocusing were drawn and rep-resented as zymograms. The stain intensity is indicated by hatching.
The phytochemical analyses were conducted on biological material dried at 40oC, powdered and then subjected to extraction with different solvents. Determi¬nation of polyholozidic content was realized in aqueous extract, the results being expressed as 'absent', +, ++ or +++, depending on reaction intensity. Methanolic extracts were processed to permit the quantification of flavones by colorimetric method (on account of complexation with AlCl3) and of catechin-like polyphenolic derivatives by the colorimetric method, in the presence of 4-dimethyl-amino-antipyrine and ammonium persulfate, at pH = 8-9 (GRIGO¬RESCU, STÃNESCU 1982).
For the determination of soluble protein the Lowry method (LOWRY et al. 1951) was used. The enzymatic extract was treated with Folin-Ciocâlteu solution. The extinctions were registered with a SPEKOL 20 spectrophotometer, at ~ = 500 nm. The amounts of soluble proteins are expressed in mg/g fresh matter. These values are required to estimate the specific activities of the two hydroperoxidases.
The statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed using the method described by RAICU et al. (1973). The arithmetical mean (x), the standard devia-tion (SD), the standard error of the mean (SE), the coefficient of variation (CV) and the standard error of the mean, expressed in % (SE %), were calculated.
Results and discussion
Quantitative analysis of catalase and peroxidase activities
As shown in Table 1, some differences are obvious between the two groups of plants of different sex. First, the male individuals have a greater catalase activ¬ity in relation to fresh biomass unit, as compared to females. The difference be-tween mean values for males and females was 2.27 mg H2O2/g fresh matter. The peroxidase activity registered superior values in female plants, but the differ¬ence between mean values of female and male plants was smaller (0.9 mg H2O2/g fresh matter). The specific activities of the two enzymes were also different. Thus, the mean and the standard error of the mean of catalase were 4.88 ± 0.10 mg H2O2/mg protein, for the group of female plants, and 6.02 ± 0.10mg H2O2/mg pro-
tein, for the male individuals. The specific peroxidase activities registered values of 1.86 ± 0.02 mg H2O2/mg protein in pistillate plants and 1.94 ± 0.05 mg H2O2/mg protein in staminate plants. For both catalase and peroxidase, the spe-cific activity was greater in males, but the increase is more important for catalase (1.14 mg H2O2/mg protein), while for peroxidase the increase is only 0.08 mg H2O2/mg protein.
The amount of soluble protein was greater in pistillate plants (5.659 ± 0.16 mg/g fresh matter). In staminate plants, these values were 4.961 ± 0.07 mg/g fresh matter, namely with 0.698 mg protein/g fresh matter smaller than those noted for female sexual phenotypes (Table 1).
The standard deviation gives indications on the spread of the observations around the mean. For the three analysed quantitative characters, the greatest con¬centration of the observations around the mean was registered for proteins. In this case, SD had the smallest values (0.30 for males, and 0.73 for females). The great¬est deviations were noted for catalase: SD = 2.39 in males, and SD = 1.71 in fe¬males. The values of CV showed that the most variable character seems to be the peroxidase activity (CV = 16.09% for males, and CV = 16.04% for females). Besides that, the SE% had the highest values for this biochemical trait (4.15 for males and 3.60 for female plants) (Table 1).
The commentary on the obtained results must start from the fact that peroxidase activity is related to the developmental processes. Thus, in organogenesis, the role of peroxidase is frequently explained by the double func-tion of this enzyme, involved both in oxidizing of some substrata and in auxine ca¬tabolism (LEGRAND, BOUAZZA 1991 ).The latter function enables the modulation of morphogenesis by peroxidase, as a result of intervention on endogenous hor¬monal balance. In hemp, as well as in other monoecious or dioecious plants, the gibberellins, auxins, ethylene and cytokinins have an important contribution to sex expression (MOHAN RAM, SETT 1982a, b, DURAND, DURAND 1984, CHAÃLAKHYAN 1985). These hormones generally intervene in the derepression of reglator genes, which enable the synthesis of specific proteins that control flower organogenesis. Because of its intervention in the regulation of IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) level, peroxidase has an indirect role in the sex-determining mechanism in hemp, more exactly in stamenogenesis and carpellogenesis. Hemp is one of the species in which a high level of IAA induces the female sex phenotypisation. The idea of a strong peroxidase activity associated with an in-creased auxine catabolism is generally accepted. Concerning catalase, the specific reaction catalysed by this enzyme is the direct degradation of the toxic H2O2 (the final product of biological oxidization), with release of water and oxygen, that is taken over to oxygenate the tissues. It seems, however, that the peroxidative ac¬tivity of catalases (the reason for which the two enzymes are known as "hydroperoxidases") prevails in tissue. In the case of a smaller H2O2 concentration and of greater quantities of other substrata, catalase can use a hydrogen donor other than H2O2.
The isoesterase and isoperoxidase patterns
The isoenyzmatic patterns were done for single individuals. The differences be-tween individuals of the same sex were not significant. Therefore, the schematic zymograms of izoesterases and isoperoxidases, for one male and one female, are compared in Figure 1. The esterases are hydrolases that catalyse the hydrolytic splitting of molecules of substrata at the level of esteric bonds, with formation of one alcohol molecule and one acid molecule. For both esterase (A) and peroxidase (B), the isoenzymatic spectrum is richer for staminate plants. Thus, in female plants, eight multiple isoesterase forms appear, six of them being placed in the do-main of pH = 5.5-6.0 and the other two in the interval of pH = 6.5-7.0. The most active isoesterase band is placed in the weak acid domain, having pI (isoelectric point) at pH = 6.0. The eleven isoesterase forms of staminate plants are situated in the interval of pH = 4.5-7.2, the most active esterase forms having pI situated in the range of pH = 4.5-5.5, namely more acid that in the case of female plants. A specific aspect is the presence of three well outlined isoesterase bands at pH = 6.1-6.5 in male plants — bands that have no correspondence in the isoesterase pattern of pistillate plants.
Differences also exist for the isoperoxidase pattern. Thus, the female plant has, as in the case of esterase, fewer bands, two isoforms being in the range of pH = 4.5-5.5, one at pH = 7.4 and one at pH = 8.9 (extremely basic). The ten frac¬tions of male genotypes were distributed in the following manner: seven at pH = 4.7-6.1 (acid), one isoform at pH = 7.4-7.6 (weakly basic) and two bands at the extremely basic value (pH = 8.9). The presence of four isoperoxidase fractions at pH = 5.8-6.1 confers a strong physiological advantage of male genotypes over the female genotypes. The isoesterase and isoperoxidase patterns reveal some dif¬ferences at the metabolic level, related to a specific multigenic determinism. Peroxidase is distributed both in the cytosol and cell wall, as different genetic isoenzymatic forms (OKEY et al. 1997). Cell wall is regarded as the site of primary plant peroxidase activity (FRY 1986). Generally it is agreed that acid peroxidases (especially those found in the cell wall) intervene in lignin biosynthesis, while the basic ones (with cytoplasmic and vacuolar distribution) are involved in IAA catabolism, through a decarboxylation step (LIMAM et al. 1998). It is obvious (Figure 1) that, although there are fewer isoenzymatic bands in the female geno¬type, the bands associated with cell walls (active in the acid range) prevail in both analysed genotypes — a fact in accordance with data suggesting that cell walls are a principal site of plant peroxidases. Concerning acid peroxidases it is not clear if they are the products of different genes or if they are modified post-translational products of a small number of genes (ROS BARCELO et al. 1987). In hemp, like in other plant species, peroxidase has several isoforms, each with a well-defined role. The isoperoxidase pattern is complex, just this complexity being the element amplifying the difficulty to decipher all specific functions of this enzyme (CLEMENTE 1998, YUN et al. 1998). The genetic determinism of these isoforms is multigenic. If there are still unexplained details for hemp, for Brassica napus
Figure 1. Zymograms of isoesterases (A) and isoperoxidases (B), in female (1) and male (2)
of individuals Cannabis sativa L.
the existence of at least four distinct genes has been established (HAMED et al. 1998). The isoenzymes of Petunia are under the control of three genes, while in wheat isoperoxidases are controlled by different genomes and the environmental conditions do not modify the isoenzymatic pattern (HAMED et al. 1998).
Quantitative analysis of polyphenols, flavones and crude polyholozides
The data regarding the amount of some secondary metabolites, depending on sex and organ of the plant, were obtained from the individuals whose zymograms are presented in Figure 1. For every quantitative essay, two replications were made. Table 2 presents the average values of these phytochemical determinations, de-pending on sexual phenotype and on analysed organ, in dry and fresh matter. The comparative analysis of these results exhibits important differences. Thus, leaves from female plants have an increased level of polyphenols (1.560 mg%, ex-pressed in catechin) and flavones (1.084 mg%, expressed in rutosid), while in male leaves polyphenols are not present, and the quantity of flavones represents 2/3 of the value for female leaves (0.680 mg%). Regarding the stem, no polyphenols were identified in the terminal (top) part of male plants. In female plants, however, their level was high (0.940 mg%, expressed in catechin). For fla¬vones, the situation is inversed: in pistillate plants these compounds are not found,
Table 2. Average values registered for polyphenols, flavones and crude polyholozides, depending on sexual phenotype and on analysed organ in hemp
Polyphenols
mg % catechin Flavones
mg % rutosid Polyholozides
Dry matter
0 0.460 ++
0.940 0 +
0 0.680 +++
1.560 1.084 ++
0 0.525 +++
0 0 absent
0 1.006 absent
Fresh matter 0.340 +++
0
0 0.525 +++
0 0.444 +++
and in staminate plants their level was 0.460 mg%. In middle parts of stems, the results were negative for all three categories of tested compounds in female plants, whereas in male plants, polyphenols are lacking. The flavones of the rutosid type have a value of 0.525 mg%, and the crude polyholozides have a good representation (+++). Generally, higher levels ofpolyholozides were pres¬ent in male plants (for example, ++ for terminal part of stem, +++ for leaves, +++ for middle part of stem, and for female plants, respectively: +, ++, absent). The quantitative analyses conducted in fresh matter were negative for polyphenols for all tested organs, both for male and female plants, but the flavones and crude polyholozides were present, the latter in high levels (+++) in all sam¬ples. Thus, between sexual phenotypes as well as between the organs of hemp plants, visible differences exist. It is also important that in the fresh and dry matter of the male plants, polyphenols were absent — an aspect possibly related to the fact that in hemp species, in which a high IAA level favours the phenotypisation of fe¬male sex, the capacity to degrade IAA is counterbalanced by auxine protectors (phenols).
As in the case of other secondary metabolites, the hemp callus was unable to synthetize polyphenols and flavones (TRUÞÃ, unpublished), which is in accor-dance with results of other studies (BRAEMER et al. 1985, BRAUT-BOUCHER et al. 1981, GILLE 1996).
Conclusions
In this study, the isoenzymatic pattern of esterase and peroxidase is richer in hemp male plants, as compared to female plants. For both analysed sexes, the isoperoxidase bands localized in acid domain are prevalent. The relative and specific activity of catalase have more reduced values in female plants. The specific peroxidasic activity is greater in male plants. The average level of soluble protein was higher in female plants. Significant differences are regis-tered, depending not only on sex, but also on tested organ in the same plant, in re¬spect of level of polyphenols, flavones and polyholozides. In male plant, polyphenols were absent.
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Source: Biochemical Differences in Cannabis Sativa L. Depending on Sexual Phenotype
