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Melatonin improves antioxidant defense mechanism of basil under drought stress

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Abstract

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a highly important medicinal plant. In this study, the interactional effects of water deficit and melatonin application on growth and physio-biochemical characteristics of basil were investigated. The treatments included three levels of irrigation (100, 75 and 50% of field capacity) and three melatonin concentrations (0, 50 and 100 µmol). Drought stress decreased the dry weight of plants but application of 100 µmol melatonin markedly increased dry weight under these conditions. Melatonin profoundly enhanced plant drought tolerance by stimulating the antioxidant enzymes (catalase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, ascorbate peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase) activities and secondary metabolites (total phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents). Furthermore, melatonin application reduced lipid peroxidation and increased the relative water content and photosynthetic pigments, resulting in an improvement of plant dry matter. It is concluded that foliar spraying with melatonin induced the pre-adaptive responses to drought stress followed by regulating antioxidant defense mechanisms.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Abbreviations

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

Chl:

chlorophyll

EL:

electrolyte leakage

FC:

field capacity

MDA:

malondialdehyde

Mel:

melatonin

PAL:

phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

PPO:

polyphenol oxidase

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

RWC:

relative water content

SSC:

soluble sugar content

TSS:

total soluble sugar

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Acknowledgements

This project supported by Research and Technology Institute of Plant Production (RTIPP), Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Technology Institute of Plant Production (RTIPP), Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Mehdi Naghizadeh & Rooholla Moradi

  2. Department of Plant Productions, Agricultural Faculty of Bardsir, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Mehdi Naghizadeh & Rooholla Moradi

  3. Agricultural and Horticultural Research Department, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kerman, Iran

    Rozita Kabiri

  4. Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Russel J. Reiter

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  1. Mehdi Naghizadeh
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  2. Russel J. Reiter
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  3. Rozita Kabiri
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  4. Rooholla Moradi
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Contributions

MN supervised the research project. RK conducted the experiments and contributed to writing of the manuscript. RK and RM designed the study, contributed to preparation of figures and tables, analyzed the data and contributed to writing of the manuscript. RJR reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Naghizadeh.

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Naghizadeh, M., Reiter, R.J., Kabiri, R. et al. Melatonin improves antioxidant defense mechanism of basil under drought stress. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 65, 83–94 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-022-00507-6

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