The Impact of Vitamins in Negating Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidant Effects on Seed Germination

Overview

Objectives/Goals Which antioxidant vitamin (A, E or C) will negate the harmful oxidant effects of hydrogen peroxide (H202) in preventing seeds from germinating? Methods/Materials Using bean and radish seeds, eight groups in Petri dishes were set up: water only, water + Vitamin A, water + Vitamin C, water + Vitamin E, H202 only, H202 + Vitamin A, H202 + Vitamin C, and H202 + Vitamin E. There were 3 dishes in each group with 25 radish seeds in each dish for the radish category and 10 bean seeds in each dish for the bean category. 10 ml of water or H202 were placed in the dishes. Each dish sat under light for an average of 12 hours every day. 5 ml of water or H202 were added periodically to keep the seeds moist. After 4.5 days I counted how many radish seeds germinated, and after 6 days I counted how many bean seeds germinated since the bean seeds take longer to geminate. Results H202 had a negative effect on seed germination. Vitamins A and E negated the effects of the H202. Vitamin C harmed seed germination even more. Radish seeds were affected more than bean seeds. Conclusions/Discussion Vitamins A and E are antioxidants that can counter the oxidant effects of bean and radish seed germination irrigated with H202. The use of antioxidants can help block the free radical effects of oxidants in the environment such as disease in humans and crop yield in plants.

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology · Entry J0501

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