Combined Citric Acid and Glutathione Augments Lead (Pb) Stress Tolerance and Phytoremediation of Castorbean through Antioxidant Machinery and Pb Uptake

Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic elements on earth. The main origins of Pb pollution are automobiles, paint and electroplating industries. Pb-induced stress has very toxic effects on plant growth and biomass. The concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells significantly increases under Pb stress, which interrupts the biochemical cycles in cells and leads to cell death. Therefore, it is essential to clean up the Pb-polluted soils. Among all techniques that are used to clean soil that is metal-contaminated, the best technique is phytoremediation. The present study intends to determine the role of citric acid (CA) and glutathione (GSH) in the phytoremediation of Pb by using castor bean plants. Plant biomass was significantly reduced due to Pb stress. Lead toxicity was also harmful to the photosynthetic pigments and antioxidant enzymes activities. In reverse, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 concentration and electrolyte leakage (EL) were increased under Pb stress. The combined application of GSH and CA enhanced photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities and plant biomass and minimized MDA, H2O2 and EL under Pb stress. The amount of Pb in roots and leaves remarkably increased by the joint application of CA and GSH. The combined application of CA and GSH (5 mM + 25 mM, respectively) was proven to be beneficial compared to the control. From the present results, we can conclude that the combined application of CA and GSH promoted the phytoremediation of Pb and helped the host plant to combat Pb toxicity.

Automated summary

Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic elements on earth, mainly originating from automobiles, paint and electroplating industries. Plant growth and biomass are severely affected by Pb-induced stress. The combined application of citric acid (CA) and glutathione (GSH) can promote the phytoremediation of Pb and help plants combat Pb toxicity.