Degradation of some representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by the water-soluble protein extracts from Zea mays L. cv PR32-B10

•Zea mays L. cv PR32-B10 has been hydroponically cultivated.•Protein extracts from Zea mays cv PR32-B10 have been used for PAHs degradation.•A cell-free enzymes approach has been used for PAHs degradation.•The structures of degradation products have been identified by spectral analyses.•Kinetics of the degradation processes have been investigated.

The ability of the water-soluble protein extracts from Zea mais L. cv. PR32-B10 to degrade some representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been evaluated. Surface sterilized seeds of corn (Zea mais L. Pioneer cv. PR32-B10) were hydroponically cultivated in a growth chamber under no-stressful conditions. The water-soluble protein extracts isolated from maize tissues showed peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and catalase activities. Incubation of the extracts with naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene, led to formation of oxidized and/or degradation products. GC-MS and TLC monitoring of the processes showed that naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene and pyrene underwent 100%, 78%, 92% and 65% oxidative degradation, respectively, after 120 min. The chemical structure of the degradation products were determined by 1H NMR and ESI-MS spectrometry.