Possible role of mannitol as an oxygen radical scavenger in olive

Along with mannose and sucrose, olive produces large amounts of mannitol in photosynthesizing leaves. Leaf mannitol shows large variation among olive genotypes and Sicilian cultivars with different leaf mannitol content were used in our trials to see whether mannitol may function as an additional non-enzymatic system to protect cells from oxygen radicals and photosystem damage. In one experiment, entire shoots of 'Passulunara', 'Castriciana', 'Nocellara del Belice', and 'Moresca' olive trees were taken to a greenhouse, and mature leaves were treated with paraquat solution, which generates oxygen radicals in presence of light. After 48 hours leaves were sampled, photographed and percent of n…