Alternation in antioxidant activity in some species of Asteraceae

Plants minimize harmful effects of reactive oxygen species by producing antioxidants including enzymatic (such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidases) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (e.g. phenolic compounds and flavonoids) to alleviate oxidative stress. Also, it is well-known that plants with strong antioxidant properties are important for human health. As such, introducing plant materials rich in phenolics or applying treatments to elevate antioxidant capacity in plants could be of importance to the food industry. On the other hand, these treatments seem to be more useful as enable plants to increase their tolerance to environmental stresses such as salinity.