Involvement of Photoprotective Compounds of a Phenolic Nature in the Response of Arabidopsis Thaliana Leaf Tissues to Low-Intensity Laser Radiation

The influence of low-intensity laser radiation (LILR) on the changes in the content of anthocyanins, kaempferol, quercetin and their glycosides in the leaves of 5-week-old plants of Arabidopsis thaliana L. was studied by means of methods of high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was found that in the leaves subjected to a stimulating He-Ne laser radiation dose (3.6 J cm⁻², continuous wave radiation, wavelength—632.8 nm, exposure time—5 min), the radiation induced an increase in the content of such compounds, the most significant one being in the case of anthocyanins (9 times). The present study also revealed an increase in the antioxidant potential of kaempferol, quercetin and their glycosides as a result of laser exposure. This increase was due to the preferential synthesis of compounds with a larger number of OH-groups on the phenyl ring. Thus, the content of quercetin, which has five OH-groups in its structure, increased almost by three times as compared to the control.