This work provides insights into the deterioration of cacti seeds of Escontria chiotilla (F.A.C. Weber ex K. Schum) and Stenocereus pruinosus (Otto ex Pfeiff.) Buxbaum stored ex situ at 25 °C, under dry and dark conditions or buried in situ conditions in a xerophytic shrubland. Viability, germination speed, electrolyte leakage and indicators of the redox balance including glutathione content, glutathione half-cell reduction potential (EGSSG/2GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized protein content, together with water-soluble antioxidant enzyme activity were assessed. Over a period of two years of storage, viability was maintained when seeds were stored ex situ at 7–9% water content compared to seeds buried in the soil. A second burial experiment showed that seeds of E. chiotilla maintained viability during a year of storage that included a rainy season followed by a dry season. Thereafter, they died rapidly during the second rainy season. In contrast, those of S. pruinosus started to lose viability after 6 months of burial at the end of the rainy season and were mostly dead at the end of the dry season. This difference in persistence between species was related to a difference in the glutathione content and antioxidant enzyme activities. In both storage experiments, the loss of viability of both species was associated to a EGSSG/2GSH shift to a more oxidative state during burial. Yet, contents in MDA and oxidized soluble proteins were not related to redox imbalance and loss of viability, indicating that these compounds are not good markers of oxidative stress in cacti seeds during storage.

这项工作为Escontria chiotilla （F.A.C. Weber ex K. Schum） 和 Stenocereus pruinosus （Otto ex Pfeiff.） 的仙人掌种子的劣化提供了见解。Buxbaum 在 25 °C 的干燥和黑暗条件下异地储存，或就地埋在旱生灌木丛中。评估活力、发芽速度、电解质泄漏和氧化还原平衡指标，包括谷胱甘肽含量、谷胱甘肽半细胞还原电位 （EGSSG/2GSH） 和丙二醛 （MDA）、氧化蛋白含量以及水溶性抗氧化酶活性。在两年的储存期间，与埋在土壤中的种子相比，当种子以 7-9% 的含水量异地储存时，可以保持活力。第二次埋葬实验表明，E. chiotilla 的种子在一年的储存期间保持了活力，包括雨季和旱季。此后，它们在第二个雨季迅速死亡。相比之下，S. pruinosus 的那些在雨季结束时埋藏 6 个月后开始失去活力，并且在旱季结束时大部分死亡。物种间持久性的差异与谷胱甘肽含量和抗氧化酶活性的差异有关。在这两个贮藏实验中，两个物种的活力损失都与 EGSSG/2GSH 在埋藏过程中转变为更氧化的状态有关。然而，MDA 和氧化可溶性蛋白中的含量与氧化还原失衡和活力丧失无关，表明这些化合物不是仙人掌种子在储存过程中氧化应激的良好标志物。