Effect of drought on the antioxidant activity of corn from various soil and climatic regions

The antioxidant activity of an annual plant Maize Zea of the Armenian population, which grew in various soil-climatic regions of Armenia, was studied. Antioxidant activity by four biochemical parameters was evaluated, the quantitative changes of which under conditions of simulated drought (mild and severe) were determined. Maize Zea of the inbred line B73 was used as the biological control in the experiments. During the experiments, it was found that the Hushakert plant samples have an increased concentration of malonic dialdehyde and flavonoids. In the biological material of corn from Teghut, high concentration values for the restoration of iron and polyphenols by antioxidants are established. The increase in drought from a moderate to the severe biological control of B73 as well as from Armenian maize samples caused the activation of an antioxidant protection system in all four indices was established. This makes it possible to expand the use of maize as a plant indicator, and can be considered as functional foods, as they are a good source of natural antioxidants.