The effects of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on physiological, biochemical, and antioxidant properties of Vitex plant (Vitex agnus - Castus L)

Seyed Mostafa Moshirian Farahi; Mohammad Ehsan Taghavizadeh Yazdi; Elham Einafshar; Mahdi Akhondi; Mostafa Ebadi; Shahrouz Azimipour; Homa Mahmoodzadeh; Alireza Iranbakhsh

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22144

The effects of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles on physiological, biochemical, and antioxidant properties of Vitex plant (Vitex agnus - Castus L)

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 10;9(11):e22144. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22144. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Seyed Mostafa Moshirian Farahi¹, Mohammad Ehsan Taghavizadeh Yazdi², Elham Einafshar³, Mahdi Akhondi⁴, Mostafa Ebadi⁵, Shahrouz Azimipour⁶, Homa Mahmoodzadeh⁷, Alireza Iranbakhsh¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
² Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Department of Biology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran.
⁶ Faculty of Chemistry, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran.
⁷ Department of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) are widely used in agriculture in order to increase the yield and growth characteristics of plants. This study investigated the effects of TiO₂NPs on photosynthetic pigments and several biochemical activities and antioxidant enzymes of the Vitex plant. Different concentrations of nanoparticles (0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 ppm) at five levels were sprayed on Vitex plants on the 30th day of the experiment. TiO₂NPs at different concentrations had positive effects on root and shoot dry weight and a negative effect on leaf dry weight. The amount of chlorophyll increased with the concentration of TiO₂NPs; however, the amount of chlorophyll b showed a decreasing trend while the total chlorophyll had a constant trend. The highest amount of soluble sugar was obtained in the treatment of 200 ppm nanoparticles. The application of TiO₂NPs did not have any effect on the content of proline and soluble proteins of Vitex plant. The effects of foliar TiO₂NPs, compared to the control, showed a significant increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes. In general, TiO₂NPs had a favorable effect on dry matter production and some antioxidant and biochemical properties of the Vitex plant.

Keywords: Chlorophyll; Phenylalanine ammonia lyase; Photosynthetic pigments; Soluble sugars; Titanium dioxide nanoparticles; Vitex.