A.A. Salve, U.B. Kakde and A.K. Chavan
Abstract
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was employed to evaluate metal-induced variations in quercetin accumulation and phytochemical profiles of Cymbopogon citratus exposed to 100 ppm cobalt, copper, manganese, and mercury for 30 days. The quercetin standard consistently eluted at a retention time of 2.4 min, confirming reliable compound identification. Control plants exhibited 11 chromatographic peaks with quercetin contributing 21.14% of the total area. Copper and cobalt treatments maintained chromatographic complexity but significantly reduced absolute quercetin content, accompanied by an increase in its relative abundance. Manganese exposure caused slight metabolic simplification and a marked decline in absolute quercetin levels, whereas mercury induced the most pronounced reduction in total peaks while yielding the highest relative quercetin enrichment. These findings indicate metal-specific modulation of quercetin dynamics and highlight its selective preservation under severe metal stress. The study underscores the pivotal role of quercetin in oxidative stress mitigation and supports its potential application as a biochemical marker for heavy-metal stress tolerance in plants.