Dittrichia viscosa plants were grown hydroponically with different concentrations of Sb. There was preferential accumulation of Sb in roots. Fe and Cu decreased, while Mn decreased in roots but not in leaves. Chlorophyll content declined, but the carotenoid content increased, and photosynthetic efficiency was unaltered. O₂^●− generation increased slightly, while lipid peroxidation increased only in roots. H₂O₂, NO, ONOO⁻, S-nitrosothiols, and H₂S showed significant increases, and the enzymatic antioxidant system was altered. In roots, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR) activities declined, dehydroscorbate reductase (DHAR) rose, and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), and glutathione reductase (GR) were unaffected. In leaves, SOD and POX increased, MDAR decreased, and APX was unaltered, while GR increased. S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) and l-cysteine desulfhydrilase (l-DES) increased in activity, while glutathione S-transferase (GST) decreased in leaves but was enhanced in roots. Components of the AsA/GSH cycle decreased. The great capacity of Dittrichia roots to accumulate Sb is the reason for the differing behaviour observed in the enzymatic antioxidant systems of the two organs. Sb appears to act by binding to thiol groups, which can alter free GSH content and SOD and GST activities. The coniferyl alcohol peroxidase activity increased, possibly to lignify the roots’ cell walls. Sb altered the ROS balance, especially with respect to H₂O₂. This led to an increase in NO and H₂S acting on the antioxidant system to limit that Sb-induced redox imbalance. The interaction NO, H₂S and H₂O₂ appears key to the response to stress induced by Sb. The interaction between ROS, NO, and H₂S appears to be involved in the response to Sb.

Alcohol, a widely consumed drug, exerts significant toxic effects on the human organism. This review focuses on its impact during fetal development, when it leads to a spectrum of disorders collectively termed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Children afflicted by FASD exhibit distinct clinical manifestations, including facial dysmorphism, delayed growth, and neurological and behavioral disorders. These behavioral issues encompass diminished intellectual capacity, memory impairment, and heightened impulsiveness. While the precise mechanisms underlying alcohol-induced fetal damage remain incompletely understood, research indicates a pivotal role for reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are released during alcohol metabolism, inciting inflammation at the cerebral level. Ethanol metabolism amplifies the generation of oxidant molecules, inducing through alterations in enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems responsible for cellular homeostasis. Alcohol consumption disrupts endogenous enzyme activity and fosters lipid peroxidation in consumers, potentially affecting the developing fetus. Addressing this concern, administration of metformin during the prenatal period, corresponding to the third trimester of human pregnancy, emerges as a potential therapeutic intervention for mitigating FASD. This proposed approach holds promise for ameliorating the adverse effects of alcohol exposure on fetal development and warrants further investigation.

Currently, there is an increasing presence of heavy metals and metalloids in soils and water due to anthropogenic activities. However, the biggest problem caused by this increase is the difficulty in recycling these elements and their high permanence in soils. There are plants with great capacity to assimilate these elements or make them less accessible to other organisms. We analyzed the behavior of Solanum lycopersicum L., a crop with great agronomic interest, under the stress caused by antimony (Sb). We evaluated the antioxidant response throughout different exposure times to the metalloid. Our results showed that the enzymes involved in the AsA-GSH cycle show changes in their expression level under the stress caused by Sb but could not find a relationship between the NITROSOGLUTATHIONE REDUCTASE (GSNOR) expression data and nitric oxide (NO) content in tomato roots exposed to Sb. We hypothesize that a better understanding of how these enzymes work could be key to develop more tolerant varieties to this kind of abiotic stress and could explain a greater or lesser phytoremediation capacity. Moreover, we deepened our knowledge about Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and Glutathione Reductase (GR) due to their involvement in the elimination of the xenobiotic component.

This study demonstrates that sunflower plants display integrated, multilevel responses to excessive lithium (Li) exposure. Li concentrations above 5 mM markedly impair germination, growth, and biomass accumulation. Li is preferentially accumulated in the shoots, showing high translocation and bioaccumulation factors, and disrupts mineral nutrient homeostasis, particularly potassium (K) and sodium (Na) uptake, while inducing oxidative stress. Although photosynthetic pigment contents decline, photosynthetic efficiency is largely maintained, except at 10 mM Li. Li treatment enhances superoxide anion (O₂^.−) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production exclusively in leaves. Consequently, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), and glutathione reductase (GR) increase in leaves, whereas only APX and GR are stimulated in the roots. Nitric oxide (NO) accumulation is detected only in leaves, while hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and glutathione (GSH) contents decline. Leaf ascorbate (AsA) levels decrease concomitantly with dehydroascorbate (DHA) accumulation. Expression analyses of catalase, DHAR, DHAR-like, and glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes confirm their involvement in Li stress responses. Moreover, global DNA methylation analyses reveal hypomethylation in leaves and hypermethylation in the roots. Overall, Li exposure induces dose- and organ-specific physiological, molecular, and epigenetic adjustments in sunflower plants under environmentally relevant concentrations and controlled experimental conditions in this study.