The present investigation was carried out to study the role of calcium chloride in enhancing tolerance and reducing cadmium toxicity in pea seedlings. Some treatment with 1 and 5 mM CaCl2 mitigated cadmium stress by increasing antioxidant enzyme activities: catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), as well as by elevating contents of ascorbic acid (ASA), tocopherol and carotenoids. On the other hand, total carbohydrate and total soluble proteins decreased with increasing cadmium concentrations in comparison with control plants. However, total phenol, total free amino acids, proline and lipid peroxidation increased with increasing concentrations of cadmium acetate. Electrophoretic studies of protein revealed that cadmium treatments alone or in combination with calcium chloride were associated with the disappearance of some bands or appearance of new bands in pea seedlings. Electrophoretic studies of esterases and acid phosphatase isozymes showed wide variations in their intensities and densities.
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