In the present experiment, effects of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS), a H2S donor, on the oxidative damage, antioxidant capacity and the growth of cucumber hypocotyls and radicles were studied under 100 mmol L-1 NaCl stress. NaCl treatment significantly induced accumulation of H2O2 and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in cucumber hypocotyls and radicles, and application of NaHS dramatically reduced the accumulation of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation. However, the alleviating effects greatly depended on the concentrations of NaHS, and 400 μmol L-1 NaHS treatment showed the most significant effects. Corresponding to the change of lipid peroxidation, higher activities of antioxidant enzymes as well as the antioxidant capacity indicated as DPPH scavenging activity, chelating activity of ferrous ions and hydroxyl radical (·OH) scavenging activity were induced by NaHS treatment under NaCl stress, especially by 400 μmol L-1 NaHS treatment. With the alleviating lipid peroxidation, the amylase activities in cotyledons were increased, and the length of cucumber hypocotyls and radicles were significantly promoted by NaHS treatment under NaCl stress. Unlike the effects of NaHS, pretreatment with other sodium salts including Na2S, Na2SO4, NaHSO4, Na2SO3, NaHSO3 and NaAc did not show significant effects on the growth of cucumber hypocotyls and radicles. These salts do not release H2S. Based on above results, it can be concluded that the effects of NaHS in the experiment depended on the H2S rather than other compounds derived from NaHS, and the alleviating effects might related with its function in modulating antioxidant capacity and amylase activities.

Nitric oxide (NO), a bioactive signaling molecule, serves as an antioxidant and anti-stress agent under abiotic stress. A hydroponics experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, on tomato seedlings exposed to 50 μmol L-1 CuCl2. The results show that copper is primarily stored in the soluble cell sap fraction in the roots, especially after treatment with Cu+SNP treatment, which accounted for 66.2% of the total copper content. The copper concentration gradually decreased from the roots to the leaves. In the leaves, exogenous NO induces the storage of excess copper in the cell walls. Copper stress decreases the proportion of copper integrated with pectates and proteins, but exogenous NO remarkably reverses this trend. The alleviating effect of NO is blocked by hemoglobin. Thus, exogenous NO is likely involved in the regulation of the subcellular copper concentrations and its chemical forms under copper stress. Although exogenous NO inhibited the absorption and transport of excess copper to some extent, the copper accumulation in tomato seedlings significantly increased under copper stress. The use of exogenous NO to enhance copper tolerance in some plants is a promising method for copper remediation.