Functional Activity of the Antioxidant System of Artemisia Genus Plants in the Republic of Buryatia (Russia) and Its Significance in Plant Adaptation

Plants are sessile organisms and any changes in environmental factors activate various responses and defense mechanisms. <i>Artemisia</i> plants widely inhabit harsh conditions of arid and semiarid ecosystems. Using two species-a subshrub, <i>Artemisia frigida</i>, and an annual-biennial herb, <i>Artemisia scoparia</i>-the functioning of the antioxidant system of plants in semiarid territories have been examined. The activity of enzymatic antioxidants and the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants in both species as well as the antiradical activity of their extracts have been shown. Although the plants were collected in areas differing in moisture supply, the activity of enzymatic antioxidants and the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants corresponds to their physiological level, within the range of the norm of reaction, in wormwood. Consequently, conditions of differing moisture deficiency do not cause a specific biochemical response at the level of the antioxidant system in the studied species, which confirms their adaptability to these conditions. Meanwhile, <i>A. frigida</i> plants show greater morphological and biochemical plasticity than <i>A. scoparia</i> under changing growth conditions. Both species contain tissue monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, the emission of which provides additional protection against high temperatures and drought. Their composition and contents of phenolic components illustrates the differences in adaptation between perennial and annual plants.