Table III.

Carotenoid contents per unit of Chl and de-epoxidation state (DPS) of the xanthophyll cycle in leaves of well-watered (WW) and WS rosemary, sage, and lemon balm plants

	Rosemary		Sage		Lemon Balm
	WW	WS	WW	WS	WW	WS
	mol mol−1 Chl
β-C	0.35 ± 0.03	0.90 ± 0.03a	0.34 ± 0.04	0.17 ± 0.01a	0.36 ± 0.03	0.27 ± 0.03a
L	0.94 ± 0.09	2.88 ± 0.12a	0.78 ± 0.03	0.52 ± 0.02a	0.54 ± 0.02	0.40 ± 0.04a
N	0.31 ± 0.03	0.80 ± 0.05a	0.19 ± 0.01	0.16 ± 0.01a	0.11 ± 0.01	0.10 ± 0.01
VZA	0.32 ± 0.02	1.40 ± 0.12a	0.35 ± 0.02	0.27 ± 0.02a	0.41 ± 0.01	0.20 ± 0.01a
DPS	0.13 ± 0.02	0.10 ± 0.03	0.09 ± 0.02	0.08 ± 0.02	0.12 ± 0.02	0.09 ± 0.02

Data correspond to the mean ± se of four measurements made on leaves collected at predawn (1 h before sunrise). β-C, β-Carotene; L, lutein; N, neoxanthin; VZA, violaxanthin + zeaxanthin + antheraxanthin. DPS was calculated as (Z + A)/VZA.

^aStatistical difference (t test, P ≤ 0.05) between WS and WW plants.