Image analysis -: tool for quantification of histochemical detections of phenolic compounds, lignin and peroxidases in needles of Norway spruce

Image analysis has become a powerful tool for the quantification of histochemical detections mainly in animal and medical sciences. There is not, however, much information about the accuracy of image analysis quantification of histochemical products and their comparison to biochemical analyses. Our study focused on the quantification of histochernically detected amounts of phenolic compounds, lignin and activity of peroxidases in the two youngest age classes of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) needles with the use of image analysis and its comparison with biochemical assays. The image analysis-determined amount of lignin and peroxidase activity was well correlated with its biochemical assay. On the other hand, no optical parameters of the reaction product of the histochemical reaction of phenolics correlated with the biochemical quantification. This proves that results of quantification of histochemical detection with image analysis greatly depend on the character and procedure of the histochemical proof. If it is done in full respect of the conditions of a histochemical reaction it can gain reliable and interesting results. Great advantage of the image analysis approach is quantification of the studied substance in different tissues within single sample as well as among different samples, which in many cases cannot be detected with biochemical tools.