article · Molecules
Canola seedlings exposed to salt stress experience detrimental effects on growth and cellular function. Applying a combination of lipoic acid and melatonin enhances plant resilience under saline conditions. Over a forty-day period, administering these molecules together improved overall seedling growth, root viability, thickness, length, and the formation of lateral roots. The treatment preserved photosynthetic pigments, maintained leaf protein levels, and lowered oxidative damage markers such as malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. Furthermore, the combined treatment modulated antioxidant enzyme concentrations, including superoxide dismutase, catalase peroxidase, and ascorbic peroxidase, alongside reducing proline and phenol accumulation under salinity stress. These metabolic and redox adjustments, along with ion homeostasis, demonstrate that combining lipoic acid and melatonin protects canola seedlings against salt-induced damage, aiding their adaptation to saline growing environments.
Soil salinity limits crop productivity worldwide, restricting agricultural yields and food security. Identifying chemical treatments that boost seedling resilience helps crops survive in saline soils. Demonstrating that lipoic acid and melatonin work together to protect root development and reduce cellular stress provides a physiological foundation for improving crop establishment in salt-affected agricultural land.
The findings could inform the development of chemical biostimulants, seed coatings, or foliar treatments for canola growers managing saline soils. Because the testing took place on seedlings over forty days under controlled saline conditions, this represents early-stage laboratory research. Substantial field validation, formulation development, and economic assessment would be required before any commercial agricultural product could reach farmers or agribusinesses.
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Lipoic acid (LA) and melatonin (MT) are pleiotropic molecules participating in plant stress resistance by modulating cellular biochemical changes, ion homeostasis, and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the combined role of these two molecules in counteracting the detrimental impacts of salinity stress is still unknown. In the present study, we determined the effects of exogenous LA (0.5 µM), MT (1 µM) and their combination (LA + MT) on growth performance and biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, and ions homeostatic in canola (<i>Brassica napus</i> L.) seedlings under salinity stress (0, 100 mM) for 40 days. The results indicate that exogenous application of LA + MT improved the phenotypic growth (by 25 to 45%), root thickness (by 68%), number of later lateral roots (by 52%), root viability (by 44%), and root length (by 50%) under salinity stress. Moreover, total soluble protein, chlorophyll pigments, the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase peroxidase (CAT), and ascorbic peroxidase (ASA) increased with the presence of salt concentration into the growth media and then decreased with the addition of LA + MT to saline solution. Leaf protein contents and the degradation of photosynthetic pigments were lower when LA + MT treatments were added into NaCl media. The proline and phenol contents decreased in the exogenous application of LA + MT treatments more than individual LA or MT treatments under the salinity stress. The incorporation of LA or MT or a combination of LA + MT to saline solution decreased salinity-induced malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. In conclusion, the alteration of metabolic pathways, redox modulation, and ions homeostasis in plant tissues by the combined LA and MT application are helpful towards the adaptation of <i>Brassica napus</i> L. seedlings in a saline environment. The results of this study provide, for the first time, conclusive evidence about the protective role of exogenous LA + MT in canola seedlings under salinity stress.
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DOI: 10.3390/molecules26113147
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