Antioxidant response of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) hairy roots after phenol treatment

► Tobacco HRs, WT and DT, were treated with phenol for 120 h. ► DT HRs showed higher phenol removal efficiency than WT. ► Phenol treatment activated the antioxidant response system in both HRs. ► DT HRs showed a more efficient antioxidant response than WT HRs. ► DT HRs were more tolerant than WT HRs to phenol treatment.