Emerging Technologies and Management of Crop Stress Tolerance

Chapter 12

Role of Tocopherol (Vitamin E) in Plants

Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Beyond

Mirza Hasanuzzaman, Kamrun Nahar and Masayuki Fujita

To cope with oxidative stress, plants have developed well-organized antioxidant defense systems, where tocopherol (Toc) is a countable nonenzymatic antioxidant that is synthesized in the plastid of photosynthesizing organisms. In plants, four different types of Toc are found, including alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), and delta (δ)-Toc. However, α-Toc is the most common form found in photosynthetic tissue. The accumulation of Toc varies greatly in different plant species and different plant parts as well. Tocopherols have diversified roles in plant growth and physiological processes that can also affect ...