Influence of Simazine and Atrazine on Free Fatty Acid Content in Isolated Chloroplasts

Abstract

Chloroplasts, isolated from fresh spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) were treated with four concentrations of each 2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine (simazine) or 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine) to determine the influence of these herbicides on the free fatty acid content in isolated chloroplasts. The treated chloroplast solutions were sampled at 0, 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min following treatment. Results indicated that most herbicide treatments increased free fatty acid content in isolated chloroplasts when compared with the zero concentration treatments. The increased fatty acid content was similar for most concentrations of simazine and atrazine. Results of individual fatty acid analyses indicated that the increase in total fatty acids was a result of increases in concentration of unsaturated rather than saturated fatty acids.