The structure and function of cellular membranes were sustained by redox-enzymes. We studied the
interaction between the oxidative stress caused by excessive accumulation of ZnO-nanoparticles
(ZnO-NPs) in plants and the role of redox-enzymes that can alleviate this stress. The crude callus
extract from pomegranate, which was treated with 0, 10, and 150 μg mL−1 ZnO-NPs or bulk particles
(ZnO-BPs), was applied to study the activity and kinetics of redox-enzymes. The elevated ZnO-NPs,
enhanced the lipoxygenase and polyphenol oxidase activity, while the ZnO-BPs did not modify them.
The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase were induced
under ZnO-NPs or BPs treatments, whilst the opposite trend of peroxidase was observed. Ascorbate
peroxidase activity increased under ZnO-NPs treatments but decreased under ZnO-BPs. The kinetics
activity of enzymes showed changes under different levels of NPs and BPs. Additionally, NPs or
BPs treatments reduced the uptake of copper, iron, magnesium, but increased zinc accumulation
in callus tissues. Meanwhile, these treatments enhanced the accumulation of manganese ions but
did not affect the accumulation of potassium and phosphorous in ZnO-NPs or BPs-stressed calli.
Collectively, these results gave a quantitative evaluation of the competition of zinc and other minerals
on the carriers, and in addition, they provided a basis for how to control ZnO-NPs or BPs toxicity via
redox-enzymes.