Nitro-Oleic Acid in Seeds and Differently Developed Seedlings of L.

Similar to animals, it has recently been proven that nitro-fatty acids such as nitro-linolenic acid and nitro-oleic acid (NO-OA) have relevant physiological roles as signalling molecules also in plants. Although NO-OA is of great therapeutic importance, its presence in plants as a free fatty acid has not been observed so far. Since (oilseed rape) is a crop with high oleic acid content, the abundance of NO-OA in its tissues can be assumed. Therefore, we quantified NO-OA in seeds and differently developed seedlings. In all samples, NO-OA was detectable at nanomolar concentrations. The seeds showed the highest NO-OA content, which decreased during germination. In contrast, nitric oxide (NO) levels increased in the early stages of germination and seedling growth. Exogenous NO-OA treatment (100 µM, 24 h) of seeds resulted in significantly increased ●NO level and induced germination capacity compared to untreated seeds. The results of in vitro approaches (4-Amino-5-methylamino-2',7'-difluorofluorescein (DAF-FM) fluorescence, NO -sensitive electrode) supported the NO liberating capacity of NO-OA. We observed for the first time that seeds and seedlings contain free NO-OA which may be involved in germination as an NO donor as suggested both by the results of exogenous NO-OA treatment of seeds and in vitro approaches. Due to their high NO- OA content, sprouts can be considered as a good source of dietary NO-OA intake.