Selenium (Se) and iodine (I) are essential elements for humans and animals, while their essential role for plants has not yet been established. There is also very little information about the interaction between selenium and iodine in plants, therefore it is important to study the combined effect of these two elements on plants that are used for human consumption. Approximately 2/3 of the world's population has health problems associated with insufficient intake of Se and I with diet. One of the easiest way to combat this problem is biofortification or enrichment of crops with Se and I, to increase the transfer of Se and I into the food chain.
In our research we used kohlrabi sprouts (Brassica oleracea L. var. gongylodes L.). Kohlrabi is a brassica, which belongs to the family of Brassicaceae, and it looks like a hybrid between cabbage and turnip. The research was conducted at the Department of Biology at the Biotechnical Faculty in the Chain of Ecology and Environmental Protection. The aim of our research was to determine the effect of different forms of Se, I and their combinations on selected biochemical and morphological characteristics of the kohlrabi sprouts. To achieve this goal we have set ourselves two research questions. With the first research question we tried to examine how the different chemical forms of Se and I and combinations of both elements affect selected biochemical and morphological properties of kohlrabi sprouts. With the second research question we tried to examine how the different chemical forms of Se and I and combinations of both elements affect growth of kohlrabi sprouts. The study was conducted on a random sample, which were kohlrabi seeds. The experiment consisted of nine treatments. There were four replicates for each treatment with 300 seeds per one replicate. Sprouts were grown from seeds, which were soaked in eight different solutions with different combinations and forms of Se and I, and in the control solution which was distilled water (dH2O). Other solutions contained selenite (SeO32-) or selenate (SeO42-) with a concentration of 10 mg Se/L, iodide (I-) or iodate (IO3-) with a concentration of 1000 mg I/L, and their combinations (SeO32-+ I-, SeO32-+ IO3-, SeO42- + I-, SeO42- + IO3-). Selenium was applied to distilled water in the form of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and sodium selenate (Na2SeO4), respectively. Iodine was applied to distilled water in the form of potassium iodide (KI) and potassium iodate (KIO3), respectively. We measured the content of chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, anthocyanins, UV-A and UV-B absorbing substances. We also measured potential photochemical efficiency of photosystem (PS II). At the end of the experiment we measured the weight and length of the sprouts. In order to compare the results the entire experiment was carried out twice.
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