Sugar Content and Metabolic Activities in Cold-Stored Fragmented Xylopodium of Ocimum nudicaule Benth. var. anisifolia Giul. (Labiatae)

Sugar content and hydrolytic activities were measured in fragments of xylopodia of Ocimum nudicaule Benth. stored for one week at 5 °C and 5.28 °C. At 5 °C the soluble carbohydrate content first decreased and at 5.28 °C it increased during storage and then declined drastically during cultivation after planting. Galactose, glucose and fructose levels also rose at 5–28 °C whereas at 5 °C only glucose increased. These changes in sugar level were found to be correlated with changes in the activity of certain hydrolytic enzymes: at 5–28 °C there was a rapid rise in the activities of α-galactosidase and hemicellulase followed by an increase in the activity of invertase and β-galactosidase. The rapid changes in enzymes and carbohydrate levels are discussed in terms of adaptation of the plant to tropical and subtropical environments.