Petroleum hydrocarbons are important characteristic pollutants in the process of oil exploitation in the Yellow River Delta (China), and they cause a potential hazard to the surrounding ecological environment. The research on eco-toxicological effects of petroleum-derived products still needs to be studied in depth. This paper describes the physiological indices of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds and seedlings under independent stresses of acetone, 2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone to determine the toxicological effects of ketones derived from petroleum products on typical crops. The experimental results indicated that ketones with concentrations lower than 0.4 mg·cm-2 and 800 mg·kg-1 the germination of wheat seeds and the growth of seedlings were promoted to 113.32-127.27% and 105.41-126.39%, respectively, thus exhibiting low-dose excitatory effects. However, when the concentration was higher than 0.4 mg·cm-2 and 800 mg·kg-1, germination and seedlings' growth were significantly reduced to 7.14-2.12% and 35.09-13.33%, respectively. At the same time, acetone had a greater impact on the growth of wheat seed roots, the malondialdehyde (MDA), and chlorophyll contents in leaf tissues. The low concentration of acetone had a significant promoting effect on the activity of α-amylase in wheat seeds. 2-Pentanone reduced the electrical conductivity of wheat seed extract, and it significantly promoted the catalase (CAT) activity at low concentrations. 2-Hexanone had a strong inhibitory effect on wheat germination and growth. This study provided new research results to determine the toxic effects of petroleum-derived products and provided a basis for the environmental management of such substances.
Keywords: 2-hexanone; 2-pentanone; Acetone; Germination; Physiological indicators of adversity; Seedlings; Triticum aestivum L.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.