Abstract
Intracellular water has been known as related to the quality of leafy vegetables. In this study, 1H-NMR relaxation time of water was measured in order to estimate the change in dynamic state of intracellular water of barley seed-leaves with time by using NMR spectrometer. Adding to this, protoplasts were prepared from barley seed-leaves and the function of membranes was examined through the tolerance of protoplasts in hypotonic solution. The results suggested that the decline of functional activities of tonoplast led to the leakage of water from vacuole to cytosol. The water leakage from vacuole causes turgor pressure drop and successive wilting. Therefore, there is quite a possibility that not only weight loss but also water leakage from vacuole plays an important role for the storage of leafy vegetables.
