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Mentha longifolia L. (horsemint) is one of the most famous wild perennial herbs of the Lamiaceae family, which has broad usage in therapeutic and pharmaceutical services. In this research, screening of twenty Mentha longifolia L. accessions was assessed according to the physio-chemical variability under low water irrigation. The investigation was a split plot arranged in a completed randomized block design in three replications with two water treatments of full irrigation (100% field capacity as control) and deficit irrigation (60% FC). The interaction effects of water deficit and accessions indicated that drought stress meaningfully (P ≤ 0.01) altered physiological parameters such as CGR, NAR, RGR, LAR, SLA electrolyte leakage, element content, stomatal conductivity, essential oil content, antioxidant activities, proline, relative water content, chlorophyll, and carotenoid content. The main volatile components as 1,8-cineole, (Z)-β-ocimene, menthon, menthol, pulegone, trans-piperitone epoxide, piperitenone, and piperitone oxide were analyzed. The HPLC analysis disclosed the existence of rosmarinic acid, caffecic acid, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, and rutin as predominant phenolic and flavonoid compounds in horsemint accessions. Results showed that the drought stress not only enhanced the values of rosmarinic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, rutin, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid but also triggered p-coumaric acid that did not exist in some accessions under full irrigation conditions. However, the findings were affected by the accession type. Cluster analysis based on all the traits categorized the accessions into two main groups, in which the comparisons of the dendrograms between normal and water deficit conditions showed 0.23 entanglement. The analysis showed that ML13, ML17, and ML2 accessions could be offered as tolerant accessions. Regarding the various reactions to drought stress and the variability among the accessions, the results of the current research could be a primary stage in recognizing and obtaining high-yield, drought-tolerance, and elite accessions and can promote horsemint breeding programs and domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoelicitors are biological and non-biological factors that can affect the synthesis of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. Feverfew is a valuable medicinal plant containing effective and important anti-cancer compounds (essential oil and parthenolide). This study was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on yield, metabolites content, and zinc and iron absorption of Feverfew. After seed preparation, seedling production, soil physicochemical properties analysis, ZnONPs treatments, maintenance and harvesting at full flowering stage, morphological traits and yield components were measured. The essential oil was extracted by Clevenger and parthenolide was identified by UPLC-MRM-MS. The content of Zn and Fe were measured by OES-ICP. The effects of ZnONPs were significant on all morpho-phytochemical traits. An increased biological yield (dry weight) was observed at 2000 ppm ZnONPs (32.54 g/day) compared to control (28.09 g/day). The highest (0.9% V/W) and lowest (0.56% V/W) content of essential oil were related to 1000 ppm ZnONPs and control. The content of parthenolide decreased at different levels of ZnONPs. The lowest (36.83 mg/kg DW) and highest (266.02 mg/kg DW) rates of Zn absorption were observed in control and 2000 ppm ZnONPs. Nanoparticles at all concentrations increased the biological yield, essential oil content, and Zn absorption. None of the ZnONPs concentrations improved the flower yield. Along with increasing ZnONPs and Zn uptake, parthenolide levels decreased. Also, it was determined that there was an antagonistic effect between Zn and Fe absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]