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Salinity has emerged as a critical abiotic stress factor, significantly limiting the growth, productivity, and quality of many crop species. As the global salinization of agricultural land continues to intensify, it is crucial to explore effective mitigation strategies to sustain crop yields. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid, is present in a variety of organisms, including plants, where it fulfills diverse roles under both optimal and stress conditions. In plants, GABA is intricately involved in nitrogen metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and the regulation of primary and secondary metabolic pathways. Functioning through the GABA shunt, it provides the carbon skeletons and energy required for biosynthetic processes and is vital for the regulation of carbon and nitrogen balance. Under abiotic stress conditions, particularly salinity, GABA rapidly accumulates, facilitating several protective mechanisms that help plants cope with stress. These include enhancing osmotic adjustment through the accumulation of osmolytes, protecting cellular structures such as chloroplasts, and improving chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic efficiency. Moreover, GABA has been shown to boost antioxidant enzyme activity, reducing oxidative stress and mitigating the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) under salinity conditions. This study explores the multifaceted role of GABA in plants under saline environments, with a focus on its physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms in enhancing plant resilience. By elucidating these mechanisms, we aim to highlight the potential of GABA as a natural biostimulant to improve crop performance and sustainability in saline soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity is an alarming issue for our agricultural soils and serious threat to crop productivity. The concentration of Cd in our soils is continuously increasing which is posing serious threat to plants, animals and humans. Mung bean is a conventional pulse crop cultivated all over the world. Thus, this study's goal was to evaluate response of mung bean seedlings in terms of growth, physiology, and biochemistry to varying degrees of Cd stress. The investigation examined various Cd levels, including control, 5, 10 and 15 mg Cd/kg of soil. The results indicate that mungbean growth, physiological and biochemical components was negatively impacted by Cd stress. Results depicted that Cd (15 mg/kg) reduced the growth attributes photosynthetic pigments (Chl. a, b and carotenoids), total soluble proteins (TSP) and free amino acids (FAA) and increased the malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and electrolyte leakage (EL). Interestingly, activities of all four antioxidants (ascorbic acid, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase) increased with increase in Cd toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity stress is an alarming issue causing a substantial reduction in crop productivity. Waterlogging also limits crop productivity and the extent of both these stresses is increasing due to climate change and global warming. This study investigated the response of Lemongrass and Asparagus grass under salinity stress and waterlogged conditions. The study was comprised of different treatments: control, salinity stress, waterlogged conditions and salinity stress + waterlogged conditions. The results revealed that salinity + waterlogging pressure negatively affected cymbopogan citratus and Asparagus officinalis. The physio-morphological, biochemical attributes, enzymatic antioxidants, and nutrient parameters showed a greater reduction under combined salinity and water waterlogged conditions. Waterlogging caused a marked decrease in root growth, leaves production and plant height of both grasses, compared to the control. Salinity stress also resulted in similar morphological modifications, albeit to a lesser extent. Physiological analysis showed a decline in chlorophyll content and RWC, indicating reduced photosynthetic capacity and water uptake efficiency in response to waterlogging and salinity. Electrolyte leakage, increased significantly under waterlogging and salinity stress, suggesting cellular damage and membrane disruption. C.citratus exhibited greater resilience to waterlogging and salinity compared to A. officinalis. Despite the adverse conditions, C. citratus maintained higher chlorophyll content, RWC, and lower electrolyte leakage, indicating better stress tolerance mechanisms. In conclusion, waterlogging and salinity induced significant morphophysiological modifications in both C. citratus and A. officinalis. However, C. citratus exhibited better tolerance to these stresses, suggesting its potential for cultivation in waterlogged and saline environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity due to overuse and growing water pollution has led to the need for upgrading of conventional methods of wastewater treatment. The biological synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and their photocatalytic capacity to degrade contaminants offer a promising and environment-friendly approach to municipal wastewater treatment. This technique is advantageous due to its cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and reduction in toxic residual substances. In this study, microbial-synthesized ZnO-NPs were used for the treatment of municipal wastewater. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of treated wastewater for wheat crop cultivation. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized from a pre-isolated bacterial strain, namely Shewanela sp., and characterized using UV–VIS, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. The results showed that after the treatment of wastewater, the concentration of total dissolve solids (TDS), the chemical oxygen demand (COD), and sulfate and phosphate levels decreased by 76.5%, 57.1%, 81.1%, and 67.4%, respectively. However, the application of treated wastewater increased chlorophyll, carotenoids, and antioxidants by 45%, 40.8%, and 10.5 to 30.6%, respectively. Further, the application of treated wastewater also significantly decreased oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 8.1% and 30.1%, respectively. In conclusion, biosynthesized ZnO-NPs could be an important choice to treat municipal wastewater and to improve wheat productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is the largest producer in the world of black pepper and it is the center of origin for Piper. The present study gives a comparative account of the chemical composition of the Piper nigrum and its wild putative parent the P. trichostachyon. Microextractions were performed and the quantification of six phenolic compounds (namely epicatechin, gallic acid, catechol, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and catechin), piperine from leaves, petioles, and the fruits of both the species, were accomplished using the RP-UFLC system. The polyphenols (phenolic, flavonoid) and their antioxidant activities were also estimated. Among the six phenolic compounds studied, only three were detected and quantified. The polyphenol content correlating to the antioxidant activities was higher in the P. trichostachyon, whereas the piperine content was 108 times greater in the P. nigrum fruits. The Piper trichostachyon comparatively showed a higher content of polyphenols. The microextractions reduced the solvent consumption, the quantity of the plant material, and the amount of time used for the extraction. The first report on the TPC, TF, and the antioxidant activity of the P. trichostachyon has been described, and it also forms a scientific basis for its use in traditional medicine. The petioles of both species are good sources of phenolic compounds. A quantitative chemical analysis is a useful index in the identification and comparison of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant hormones are chemical compounds that serve as crucial signal molecules. The growth and induction of bioactive compounds in plant suspension cultures depend on the exogenous application of auxins and cytokinins at different concentrations. In this study, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Shishi) cell suspension cultures initiated in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium were treated with 2.5 and 5 mg/L 2-isopentenyladenine (2-iP) in combinations with 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and compared to the standard cell multiplication medium as the control, which contained 1.5 mg/L 2iP and 10 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The optimum biomass accumulation, based on the packed cell volume and dry weight, was found in the cell suspension culture augmented with 1 mg/L 2,4-D + 5 mg/L 2iP followed by 5 mg/L 2,4-D + 2.5 mg/L 2-iP. In addition, the study assessed the total phenolic, flavonoid and radical scavenging activity, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was also used to determine the content of polyphenols (apigenin, caffeic acid, catechin and kaempferol) quantitatively. Cell suspension cultures containing 5 mg/L 2,4-D and 2.5 mg/L 2iP yielded the maximum accumulation of phenolics, flavonoids and radical scavenging activity (90.65%), and also a significantly higher content of caffeic acid (37.1 µg/g DW). The present finding facilitates the scaling up and commercial production of polyphenols from date palm cell suspension culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]