This behavior permits assessing that there is an antagonistic effect of the two solutes on water loss, i.e., the use of the salt as osmotic agent increases WL at certain levels of concentration. These results are in agreement with those obtained by Lenart and Flink (1984), Collignan and Raoult-Wack (1994) and Sacchetti, Gianotti and Dalla Rosa (2001). The salt-sucrose antagonistic effect on water loss is of particular interest if we consider that the chemical potential of the ternary solution increases when the concentration of both solutes increases. These results could be explained by a reduction of plasmatic membrane permeability that takes place during the plasmolysis process. Furthermore, it would be considered that, due to the different molecular dimensions, sucrose remains mainly in the extracellular space while sodium chloride can penetrate into the cell, thus leading to a reduction of the osmotic pressure gradient (SACCHETTI; GIANOTTI; DALLA ROSA, 2001).