Ação antioxidante da água catódica: estudos preliminares em sementes de café

Coffee seeds have limitations regarding to its conservation because of their sensitivity to desiccation and storage behavior. The establishment of a methodology for seed storage is difficult due to its deterioration. Deterioration can enhance the production of reactive oxygen species and cause lethal oxidative damage to plant tissues. The damage caused by harmful levels of free radicals can be softened by the action of endogenous or exogenous antioxidants. Recent research shows new antioxidative protection technologies, being cathodic protection a promising technique with relevant results in other recalcitrant species and even in other living organisms. Thus, the aim of this work was to verify the antioxidant effect of cathodic water in Coffea arabica L. seeds with the purpose of investigating a new technology to improve seed quality. The study was conducted at the Central Seed Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, at the Federal University of Lavras. Coffea arabica L. seeds were used. The study was conducted in two stages, in the first a preliminary analysis of the use of cathodic water was carried out in batches with different levels of quality. In the second it was evaluated the effect of light and of the imbibition period of the seeds in cathodic water. The seeds were immersed in distilled water and in cathodic water for eight distinct soaking periods, in absence and presence of light and then evaluated by physiological tests. It can be concluded that cathodic water can positively influence the physiological performance of the coffee seeds with poor quality, especially when embedded during periods between 4.5 to 7.5 hours in the absence of light.