Cu-Induced oxidative stress modifies the metabolic profile of Allium cepa roots

Abstract

Heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Zn etc) are capable of imparting oxidative stress in life systems and generally responsible for various ailments such as cancer. Alternation of metabolic profile is one of the critical factors for causing such diseases. In this backdrop our study aims to study the Cu-induced metabolic changes in Allium cepa roots. A. cepa has been extensively used as model by researchers for various studies due to its easy availability as well as robustness and consistency of the outcomes. CuSO4 was used as a sole source of Cu2+ ions. A. cepa roots were treated with 25-250 μM CuSO4 for 24 h and volatile metabolic constituents of the root extract (hexane extract) were assessed by GC-MS analysis. The result showed that when compared with the control, Cu could modify the volatile constituents of A. cepa.