Objective To reveal the regulatory effects of exogenous H
2O
2 leaf pretreatment on mitochondrial homeostasis, growth and flavonoids accumulation in
Sedum sarmentosum under different water conditions.
Methods Four treatments were conducted, namely, suitable moisure, suitable moisure + 1 mmol/L H
2O
2, drought, drought + 1 mmol/L H
2O
2. The ultrastructure of mesophyll cells and mitochondrial antioxidant system of
S. sarmentosum under different treatments, as well as the growth index, biomass, contents of quality-related components and four
in vitro antioxidant capacities of
S. sarmentosum were determined.
Results Exogenous spraying of 1 mmol/L H
2O
2under drought stress could significantly increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), perxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in mitochondria of
S. sarmentosum, significantly reduce the mitochondrial
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production rate and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and reduce the damage of mitochondrial membrane structure. Under drought conditions, the fresh weight and dry weight of leaves which sprayed with H
2O
2 increased by 51.53% and 38.78%, and the contents of total flavonoids and total phenols increased by 13.37% and 6.50%, respectively, compared with those under drought conditions, but the contents of quercetin and isorhamnetin were significantly lower than those under other treatments. Spraying H
2O
2 under suitable water condition was conducive to improving biomass and isorhamnetin content. ABTS, DPPH, OH· radical scavenging ability and anti-lipid peroxidation ability of
S. sarmentosum were the highest under suitable moisure + spraying H
2O
2 treatment, followed by drought + spraying H
2O
2 treatment.
Conclusion Foliar spraying 1 mmol/L H
2O
2 could alleviate the oxidative damage of drought stress on
S. sarmentosum, maintain mitochondrial homeostasis, and improve the yield and quality of
S. sarmentosum, thereby coordinating the contradiction between yield and quality of
S. sarmentosum under drought stress. Spraying H
2O
2 under suitable moisture conditions can also help to improve the yield and quality of
S. sarmentosum.