PHOTOXIDATION PROCESSES IN PLANTS

1. Photoxidation in leaves is measured by exposing them to light in an atmosphere free from carbon dioxide but containing varied percentages of oxygen. 2. Photoxidation is observed in living leaves as well as in dead ones and in plant juices. Its rate is only slightly enhanced by feeding the leaves with sugar, but the respiration (autoxidation) becomes considerably enlarged during the exposure and the following dark period. 3. The rate of photoxidation rises slower than linearly with light intensity; its dependence upon oxygen pressure has the character of a saturation curve. Oxygen saturation occurs at about 6/10 of an atmosphere of oxygen. A similar dependence on oxygen pressure has been observed by Gaffron for photoxidation in vitro sensitized by chlorophyll adsorbed on proteins and by Warburg for the depression of the saturation rate of photosynthesis. 4. The influence of photoxidation on photosynthesis and the chemical kinetics of photoxidation are discussed.