Inositol prevents senescence of gladiolus flowers

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of inositol on the vase life of cut flowers of gladiolus variety Snow Princess. Vase life of gladiolus was increased when treated with inositol (75 mM). Fresh weight, membrane stability index, total soluble protein content and activities of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase and ascorbate peroxidase were also increased by the treatment in comparison to control. On the other hand, level of lipid peroxidation in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and the activities of lipoxygenase enzyme were reduced by inositol treatment. This suggests that inositol mediates the scavenging of free radicals, hence decrease their interaction with proteins and lipid, delaying the process of lipid peroxidation and consequently senescence.