Antioxidative and pigment response of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) to Zinc oxide and Cerium dioxide nano elicitors

Sadeghi, Hadiseh; Ahmadi, Jafar; Habibzadeh, Farhad; Fabriki Ourang, Sedigheh

doi:10.22055/ppd.2024.44522.2119

Document Type : Research Paper - Medicinal Aromatic Plants

Authors

¹ M.Sc. Graduated, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

² Professor, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2024.44522.2119

Abstract

Introduction
Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a perennial and woody shrub that grows in different regions of Iran and the world. The Berberidaceae family has a high potential in food and pharmaceutical industries due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Elicitors are biotic or abiotic stimulators that can induce responses in plants. Abiotic elicitors are used to increase secondary metabolites in plants. Nanoparticles have minimum dimensions between one and 100 nanometers, which have specific physical and chemical properties. Like many nanoparticles, zinc oxide and cerium dioxide nanoparticles are toxic to living organisms. The mechanism of toxicity of nanoparticles is generally contributed to the induction of oxidative stress which lead to the formation of free radicals. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide and cerium dioxide can increase the antioxidant capacity of plants by stimulating oxidative stress.
Material and methods
In order to study the changes in the physiological and biochemical characteristics of Japanese barberry under the influence of abiotic elicitors, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in the greenhouse and laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Imam Khomeini International University in 2019. Treatments were included zinc oxide elicitors (0.1 g/L) and cerium dioxide nanoparticles (0.0002 g/L) and control (no elicitor). In this research, the amounts of protein, antioxidant enzymes and photosynthetic pigments in tissues of Japanese barberry were measured. Data analysis was done with SAS 9.1.3 statistical software. Comparison of means was done with Duncan's multiple range test and graphs were drawn using Excel software.
Results and Discussion
The results of the data analysis of variance showed that the effect of treatment with cerium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticle elicitors on the amount of leaf protein, antioxidant activity and also the amount of photosynthetic pigments was significant. Comparison of the means showed that these two elicitors increased the leaf protein content by 26.2% and 12.4%, respectively, compared to the control, but they did not have a significant effect on the root protein content. Cerium dioxide decreased the activity of guaiacol peroxidase enzyme by 77.1% in the root; But in leaves, the activity of this enzyme increased by 134.8% due to treatment with zinc oxide. The highest activity of leaf superoxide dismutase enzyme (25.2% increase compared to control) was related to zinc oxide treatment. The lowest content of catalase enzyme in leaves and roots was obtained with cerium dioxide and zinc oxide. Zinc oxide increased the activity of leaf ascorbate peroxidase enzyme by 111.8%; In the root, the highest and lowest activity levels of this enzyme were obtained in the control and cerium dioxide treatments, respectively. Both elicitors significantly increased the leaf peroxidase enzyme activity compared to the control (128.6% and 157.1%, respectively); However, only the treatment with zinc oxide caused a significant increase of 25.5% in the activity of this enzyme in the root. The highest activity of glutathione reductase enzyme in leaf and root was observed in zinc oxide treatment (23.3% and 12.5% increase compared to control). Nano zinc oxide increased the amount of total chlorophyll and carotenoid in the leaves compared to the control by 93.4 and 67.5%, respectively.
Conclusion
It was concluded that zinc oxide nanoparticles elicitor had the greatest effect in increasing the amount of photosynthetic pigments and enzyme activity. By using this elicitor in Japanese barberry culture, the amount of antioxidant enzymes can be increased and the extract can be used as a strong antioxidant in pharmaceutical products.
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Keywords

Main Subjects

H: Medicinal Aromatic Plants

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Antioxidative and pigment response of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) to Zinc oxide and Cerium dioxide nano elicitors

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Volume 47, Issue 1June 2024Pages 131-146

Volume 47, Issue 1
June 2024
Pages 131-146