Mitigating Effects of Lycopene On Growth and Productivity of Amaranthus Hybridus Under Aluminium Toxicity Induced Stress.

Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria

*Correspondent author, e-mail obi.udengwu@unn.edu.ng, obiudengwu@gmail.com Phone: +2348037723300, +2348032034068

                                         ABSTRACT

It is often assumed that since plants can synthesize diverse anti-oxidants, they may not need supplementation to cope with stresses. To investigate this assumption, this present study explored the mitigating effects of supplemented lycopene on the growth and productivity of Amaranthus hybridus subjected to 50 and 200µM concentrations of Al induced stress at 4.6 pH and 25oC. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the peak absorbance, at 375nm, of lycopene extracted from fresh tomatoes. Thiobarbithuric acid (TBA) method was used to determine the antioxidant activity of lycopene. Pre- and post- antioxidant treatments were hydroponically applied to Amaranthus hybridus seedlings before and after Al treatment for 72 h. Results showed that post-lycopene treatments significantly alleviated Al stress in A. hybridus more than pre-lycopene treatments. It is concluded that though A. hybridus, could naturally synthesize its own antioxidants, it is however susceptible to Al toxicity-induced stress and post lycopene supplementation could alleviate the stress situation and, enhance growth and productivity.

Keywords: Amaranthus hybridus, Aluminium stress, Lycopene, Mitigation, Growth and productivity.