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Albert, A. ; Sareedenchai, V.* ; Heller, W. ; Seidlitz, H.K. ; Zidorn, C.*

Temperature is the key to altitudinal variation of phenolics in Arnica montana L. cv. ARBO.

Oecologia 160, 1-8 (2009)
DOI PMC
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
Plants in alpine habitats are exposed to many environmental stresses, in particular temperature and radiation extremes. Recent field experiments on Arnica montana L. cv. ARBO indicated pronounced altitudinal variation in plant phenolics. Ortho-diphenolics increased with altitude compared to other phenolic compounds, resulting in an increase in antioxidative capacity of the tissues involved. Factors causing these variations were investigated by climate chamber (CC) experiments focusing on temperature and ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation. Plants of A. montana L. cv. ARBO were grown in CCs under realistic climatic and radiation regimes. Key factors temperature and UV-B radiation were altered between different groups of plants. Subsequently, flowering heads were analyzed by HPLC for their contents of flavonoids and caffeic acid derivatives. Surprisingly, increased UV-B radiation did not trigger any change in phenolic metabolites in Arnica. In contrast, a pronounced increase in the ratio of B-ring ortho-diphenolic (quercetin) compared to B-ring monophenolic (kaempferol) flavonols resulted from a decrease in temperature by 5A degrees C in the applied climate regime. In conclusion, enhanced UV-B radiation is probably not the key factor triggering shifts in the phenolic composition in Arnica grown at higher altitudes but rather temperature, which decreases with altitude.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Asteraceae; Chemical ecology; Ultraviolet-B radiation; Free radicals; Antioxidants; secondary metabolite profiles; uv-b radiation; flowering heads; stress research; asteraceae; increase; sunlight; plants
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0029-8549
e-ISSN 1432-1939
Journal Oecologia
Quellenangaben Volume: 160, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-8 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Research Unit Environmental Simulation (BIOP-EUS)
Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology (BIOP)