文摘
The aqueous fraction of a methanol extract from a cucumber plant without fruit successively detoxified the paraquat phytotoxicity to soybean leaf. No injury was found when a 0.1% aqueous solution along with 100 μM paraquat was applied to the test plant. The cucumber extract induced the successful reduction of electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) production as a result of membrane lipid peroxidation. The cucumber extract had DPPH, hydroxyl-radical and superoxide scavenging activities of 82.3%, 68% and 71.2% for 5 mg/mL of the active substance, respectively. The mode of action for the active substance extracted from cucumber plants for paraquat detoxification might originate from the scavenging superoxide, O2•− produced by the bipyridyl radicals of paraquat. It is highly likely that the juice of cucumber plants has a curative role in patients poisoned by paraquat or peroxide pesticides.