Angiogenesis is the process of developing new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. This review summarizes the main features of physiological and pathological angiogenesis and those of angiogenesis activation and inhibition. In healthy adults, angiogenesis is absent apart from its involvement in female reproductive functions and tissue regeneration. Angiogenesis is a complex process regulated by the action of specific activators and inhibitors. In certain diseases, modulating the angiogenic balance can be a therapeutic route, either by inhibiting angiogenesis (for example in the case of tumor angiogenesis), or by trying to activate the process of new blood vessels formation, which is the goal in case of cardiac or peripheral ischemia.

2-weeks-old wheat plants were exposed to metronidazole by transferring to Hoagland solutions containing between 10 and 100 mg antibiotic per liter. Plants evaluation after 7 days of treatment revealed a moderate inhibition of their growth at high concentrations of metronidazole, whose probability of appearing in natural environments is low. Biochemical parameters, such as the activity of soluble peroxidases, and the concentration of soluble proteins and glucose in the roots of the plants, didn’t show wide variations in the metronidazole exposed plants compared to the non-exposed ones. Also, leaf chlorophylls and carotenoids concentrations didn’t differ markedly in the exposed plants compared to the unexposed ones, although a redistribution of the pigments in the leaf was noticed. Thus, we concluded that wheat plants didn’t experience a major stress, probably due to the limited absorption and activation of metronidazole.

We set out to characterize some aspects of growth and metabolism of wheat seedlings that have grown for 7 days on media supplemented with gibberellic acid (GA3) or salicylic acid (SA), at concentrations of 10 μmol∙L-1 and 100 μmol∙L-1. Compared to control plants, increased concentration of glucose and lipid peroxidation products were observed in GA3 series, while higher levels of soluble proteins, glucose, acid phosphatase and peroxidase activity were measured in SA series. Data from photosynthetic pigment analysis pointed out minor differences regarding chlorophylls and carotenoids content in plants’ leaves, both within and between the groups. Although total carotenoid content didn’t vary markedly among the experimental variants, certain changes of the relative contribution of the pigments in the carotenoid pool were observed, mainly a decrease of neoxanthin content paralleled by an increase of violaxanthin content. However, as the biometric data have shown, plant growth was neither inhibited nor stimulated, irrespective of the growth conditions. The observed modulation of certain biochemical parameters may be considered as part of the plants’ adaptive responses to an environmental challenge, where the differences between GA3 and SA regarding bioavailability, mobility and specific mechanisms of action underlie the different outcomes.

Our experiments on the cultivation of wheat plants in the laboratory, on nutrient solutions supplemented with AgNO3, showed that the exposure to Ag+ at concentrations of 10 mmol×L-1 and 100 mmol×L-1 for 7 days led to growth inhibition and modification of certain biochemical indices, compared to control plants. The observed differences concerned the activity of soluble peroxidases and the degree of lipid peroxidation in the roots of wheat plants, as well as the quantity of chlorophylls in their leaves. These results may reflect both a toxic effect and a regulatory role of silver in plants.