Quercetin ameliorates chromium toxicity through improvement in photosynthetic activity, antioxidative defense system; and suppressed oxidative stress in Trigonella corniculata L

Muhammad Ashfaq Aslam; Shakil Ahmed; Muhammad Saleem; Anis Ali Shah; Adnan Noor Shah; Mohsin Tanveer; Hayssam M Ali; Rehab Y Ghareeb; Mohammad E Hasan; Jallat Khan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.956249

Quercetin ameliorates chromium toxicity through improvement in photosynthetic activity, antioxidative defense system; and suppressed oxidative stress in Trigonella corniculata L

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Nov 10:13:956249. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.956249. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
² Department of Botany, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan.
³ Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.
⁴ Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
⁵ Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, The City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El Arab, Egypt.
⁷ Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research institute, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.

Abstract

Environmental stresses, including heavy metals accumulation, have posed an immense threat to the agricultural ecosystem, leading to a reduction in the yield of crucial crops. In this study, we evaluated the role of quercetin (Qu) in the alleviation of chromium (Cr) stress in Fenugreek (Trigonella corniculata L.). Different levels of Qu were prepared during the experiment, i.e., 15, 25, and 40 μM. For Cr toxification in potted soil, potassium chromate (K₂Cr₂O₇) was used. Cr toxification reduced growth of T. corniculata seedlings. Cr stress also reduced fiber, ash, moisture, carbohydrate, protein, fats, and flavonoid contents. However, seed priming with Qu improved growth and physiochemical characteristics of T. corniculata seedlings grown in normal and Cr-contaminated soil. Seed priming with Qu escalated intercellular CO₂ concentration, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and photosynthetic rate in T. corniculata seedlings. Application of Qu also increased the activity of antioxidative enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and peroxidase (POD) in T. corniculata seedlings exposed to normal and Cr-contaminated soil. Application of Qu incremented the activity of SOD, POD, CAT, and APX, which were increased by 28, 22, 29, and 33%, respectively, in T. corniculata grown in Cr-toxic soil as compared to control treatment. Chromium stress alleviation was credited to the enhanced activity of the antioxidative defensive system in T. corniculata seedlings. It is proposed that Qu supplementation can be used to mitigate other abiotic stresses in plants.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes; chromium; fenugreek; growth; heavy metals.