Infiltration of methyl viologen (MV, source of O2-) and Na-diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC, inhibitor of SOD) into wheat leaves resulted in the accumulation of active oxygen species and photo-oxidative damage to photosynthetic apparatus under both moderate and high irradiance. Exogenous antioxidants, ascorbate (ASA) and mannitol, scavenged active oxygen efficiently, protected the photosynthetic system from MV and DDC induced oxidative damage, and maintained high Fv/Fm [maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2 (PS2) while all PS2 reaction centres are open], Fm/F0 (another expression for the maximal photochemical efficiency of PS2), ΦPS2 (actual quantum yield of PS2 under actinic irradiation), qP (photochemical quenching coefficient), PN (net photosynthetic rate), and lowered qNP (non-photochemical quenching coefficient) of the leaves kept under high irradiance and oxidative stress. Phenolic compounds used in these experiments, catechol (Cat), resorcinol (Res), and tannic acid (Tan), had similar anti-oxidative activity and protective effect on photosynthetic apparatus as ASA and mannitol. The anti-oxidative activity and the protective effect of phenolic compounds increased with increase in their concentration from 100 to 300 g m-3. The number and the position of hydroxyl group in phenolic molecules seemed to influence their antioxidative activity. and Hui Jie Zhao, Qi Zou.