Effect of Salinity on Morphological Characteristics, Biochemical Accumulation, and Essential Oil Yield and Composition in Black Horehound (Ballota nigra L.)

Abstract

Black horehound (Ballota nigra L.) is one of the important medicinal plants, which is a rich source of health-promoting essential oils. Salinity stress affects plant development and alters the quality and quantity of plants extracts and their composition. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of salinity on morphological, physiological characteristics, and secondary metabolites of B. nigra under greenhouse, and in vitro culture conditions. The plants were treated with different concentrations of NaCl (25, 50, 75, 100 mM) and fresh and dry weight of leaf and stem were measured as well as morphological characteristics of the plant. Plant growth was reduced with the increased salinity concentrations. The results showed that all growth-related traits and SPAD were decreased both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, increased salt concentration affected the cell membrane integrity. Total phenolics content of plants growing in the greenhouse, increased by 21% at 50 mM NaCl, but at higher stress levels (100 mM NaCl), the amounts were decreased significantly. Total flavonoids contents followed similar patterns, with a slight difference. In addition, the maximum and minimum total phenolics contents of plants growing under in vitro condition were observed at 50 mM NaCl and control treatments, respectively. Increasing the salt concentration significantly affected the total flavonoids content, and as a result, the highest amount was observed in 50 and 75 mM NaCl treatments. Antioxidant activity was also measured. Among the NaCl treatments, the highest DPPH scavenging activities (IC50) under greenhouse and in vitro conditions were detected at 50 mM and 25 mM concentrations, respectively. In general, based on the results, with increasing the salinity level to 75 mM, the activities of CAT and APX were significantly upregulated in both greenhouse and in vitro culture conditions. A correlation between total phenolics and flavonoids contents as well as antioxidant activity were obtained. With shifting salinity stress, the type and the amount of the identified essential oil compounds changed. Compounds such as styrene, tridecanol, germacrene-D, beta-Ionone, beta-bisabolene, and caryophyllene oxide increased compared to the controlled treatment.