Comparison of two methods used to analyse lipid peroxidation from Vaccinium myrtillus (L.) during snow removal, reacclimation and cold acclimation.

Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration is a widely used method to analyse lipid peroxidation in biological material. In plant tissues, however, certain compounds (anthocyanins, carbohydrates) may interfere with measurements which may lead to an overestimation of the MDA levels. Two methods were compared for analysing lipid peroxidation, either uncorrected or corrected for interfering compounds. The comparison was performed in three separate experiments with respect to cold treatments (snow removal in winter, reacclimation in summer and cold acclimation in autumn) in bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.). During winter and autumn the methods seem to measure different compounds, but during active growth in the summer the difference between the methods was less. This is obviously due to carbohydrates which act as cryoprotectants and increase in concentration during cold acclimation as well as due to the anthocyanins. It is thus suggested that the validity of the uncorrected method to measure MDA and thereby lipid peroxidation is best in plant tissue which is in an active growth state.