Effect of selenium and melatonin on growth and nitrate accumulation in spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.)

Document Type : scientific research article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Graduate of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran and Assistant Prof., Dept. of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Alberoni University, Kapisa, Afghanistan

2 . Corresponding Author, Associate Prof., Dept. of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

Background and purpose: Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is very important in the diet due to its high nutritional value, so it is consumed in large quantities in most countries of the world. But this vegetable has a high ability to accumulate nitrates, and if we don't pay attention to its nitrates, it can pose risk to human health. This has led to extensive research on the possibility of reducing nitrate accumulation in this vegetable. Some of these researches are focused on the application of nutritional elements and plant hormones. It has been reported that the application of selenium and melatonin hormone is effective in reducing nitrate accumulation in various plants. This research aims to investigate the effect of selenium nutrition and melatonin spraying, as well as the interaction between the two, on the growth and nitrate accumulation in spinach.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted as a factorial experiment in a complete randomized design, including selenium as sodium selenite (0, 5, and 10 μM) and melatonin (0, 50, and 100 μM) in hydroponic cultivation and in a substrate of coco peat and perlite. The melatonin treatment was applied as a foliar spray at the three-leaf stage and after sunset, twice with a one-week interval. Selenium treatment was given to the plants in combination with the Hoagland nutrient solution. Growth indices, chlorophyll, leaf antioxidant capacity, total flavonoid concentration, total phenol concentration, vitamin C content, nitrate, and nitrate reductase enzyme activity were measured after harvesting the plants.

Results: The results of this research showed that the use of selenium and melatonin increased the growth traits such as total fresh weight biomass, shoot fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, and total dry weight biomass compared to the control. Application of selenium and melatonin increased some biochemical traits such as total phenol and flavonoid, antioxidant capacity and selenium of leaves. Data analysis showed that selenium and melatonin are effective in reducing nitrate accumulation in leaves and stems, and their effectiveness depends on their concentration. The findings of this research showed that selenium and melatonin have a better effect in reducing nitrate accumulation in leaves compared to stem. One reason for the effectiveness of melatonin in leaves compared to stems may be due to the larger surface area of the leaves being exposed to the melatonin spray. It seems that selenium has a negative effect on the plant at a concentration of 10 mM, although it has reduced nitrate accumulation; however, it was not as effective as at the level of 5 mM. The application of 50 mM melatonin resulted in a decrease in nitrate levels, but the concentration of 100 mM melatonin was more effective than 50 mM. It is possible that higher levels of melatonin are more effective in the expression of genes related to nitrate and nitrite reductase enzymes and thereby reduce nitrate levels. The highest amount of nitrate was found in the leaves and stems and the lowest amount of nitrate reductase enzyme activity was found in the leaves and stems of control plants, while the lowest amount of nitrate in leaves and stems was obtained in the treatment combination of 5 μM selenium and 100 μM melatonin, which decreased the amount of nitrate in the leaf to 65% and in the stem to 52%, And nitrate reductase enzyme activity showed a 32% increase in the leaf and a 65% increase in the stem compared to the control.Conclusion: Present research show that, the treatment combination of 5 μM selenium and 100 μM melatonin had the best effect in increasing total biomass (wet and dry) and reducing nitrate accumulation in spinach.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1.Moussa, H. R., & Algamal, S. M. A. (2017). Does exogenous application of melatonin ameliorate boron toxicity in spinach plants?. International Journal of Vegetable Science, 23(3), 233-245.‏
2.Ribera, A., van Treuren, R., Kik, C., Bai, Y., & Wolters, A. M. A. (2021). On the origin and dispersal of cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 68(3), 1023-1032.‏
3.Chitwood, J., Shi, A., Evans, M., Rom, C., Gbur, E. E., Motes, D., & Hensley, D. (2016). Effect of temperature on seed germination in spinach (Spinacia oleracea). HortScience, 51(12), 1475-1478.‏
4.Santamaria, P., Elia, A., Serio, F., & Todaro, E. (1999). A survey of nitrate and oxalate content in fresh vegetables. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 79(13), 1882-1888.
5.Dejon, C. W., & Stekbaut, W. (1995). Nitrate in food commodities vegetable origin and the total diet in belgium,
ghent university. Faculties Bio-Ingenious Wetenschappen, 15, 625-631.‏
6.Barber, S. A. (1995). Soil nutrient bioavailability: a mechanistic approach. John Wiley & Sons.‏
7.Blom-Zabdstra, M. H. A. (1989). Nitrate accumulation in vegetables and its relationship to quality. Annals of Applied Biology, 115(3), 553-561.
8.Dejonckheere, W., Steurbaut, W., Drieghe, S., Verstraeten, R., & Braeckman, H. (1994). Nitrate in food commodities of vegetable origin and the total diet in Belgium (1992-1993). MAN Microbiologie, Aliments, Nutrition, 12(4), 359-370.
9.De Silva, D. S. M., & Dayarathna, A. G. S. (2019). Determination of selenium content in selected edible green leaves. Ceylon Journal of Science, 48(1), 61-5.‏
10.Iserte, L. O., Roig-Navarro, A. F., & Hernandez, F. (2004). Simultaneous determination of arsenic and selenium species in phosphoric acid extracts of sediment samples by HPLC-ICP-MS. Analytica Chimica Acta, 527(1), 97-104.
11.Brengi, S. H., & Abouelsaad, I. A. (2019). The Role of Different Nitrogen Sources Combined with Foliar Applications of Molybdenum, Selenium or Sucrose in Improving Growth and Quality of Edible Parts of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Alexandria Science Exchange Journal, 40, 156-168.‏
12.Golubkina, N., Kekina, H., & Caruso, G. (2018). Yield, quality and antioxidant properties of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) in response to foliar biofortification with selenium and iodine. Plants, 7(4), 80
13.Li, X., Yu, B., Cui, Y., & Yin, Y. (2017). Melatonin application confers enhanced salt tolerance by regulating Na+ and Cl− accumulation in rice. Plant Growth Regulation, 83(3), 441-454.
14.Arnao, M. B., & Hernández-Ruiz, J. (2014). Melatonin: plant growth regulator and/or biostimulator during stress?. Trends in Plant Science, 19(12), 789-797.
15.Zhang, R., Sun, Y., Liu, Z., Jin, W., & Sun, Y. (2017). Effects of melatonin on seedling growth, mineral nutrition, and nitrogen metabolism in cucumber under nitrate stress. Journal of Pineal Research, 62(4), e12403.
16.Hancı, F., & Tuncer, G. (2020). How do foliar application of melatonin and L-tryptophan affect lettuce growth parameters under salt stress?. Turkish Journal of Agriculture-Food Science and Technology, 8(4), 960-964.‏
17.Porra, R. J., Thompson, W. A., & Kriedemann, P. E. (1989). Determination of accurate extinction coefficients and simultaneous equations for assaying chlorophylls a and b extracted with four different solvents: verification of the concentration of chlorophyll standards by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Bioenergetics, 975(3), 384-394.‏
18.Li, J. W., Ding, S. D., & Ding, X. L. (2005). Comparison of antioxidant capacities of extracts from five cultivars of Chinese jujube. Process Biochemistry, 40(11), 3607-3613.‏
19.Tezcan, F., Gültekin-Özgüven, M., Diken, T., Özçelik, B., & Erim, F. B. (2009). Antioxidant activity and total phenolic, organic acid and sugar content in commercial pomegranate juices. Food Chemistry, 115(3), 873-877.
20.Cataldo, D. A., Maroon, M., Schrader, L. E., & Youngs, V. L. (1975). Rapid colorimetric determination of nitrate in plant tissue by nitration of salicylic acid. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 6(1), 71-80.‏
21.Sym, G. J. (1984). Optimisation of the in-vivo assay conditions for nitrate reductase in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Igri). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 35(7), 725-730.‏
22.Sams, C. E., Panthee, D. R., Charron, C. S., Kopsell, D. A., & Yuan, J. S. (2011). Selenium regulates gene expression for glucosinolate and carotenoid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 136(1), 23-34.
23.Silva, V. M., Tavanti, R. F. R., Gratão, P. L., Alcock, T. D., & Dos Reis, A. R. (2020). Selenate and selenite affect photosynthetic pigments and ROS scavenging through distinct mechanisms in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) walp) plants. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 201, 110777.‏
24.Arnao, M. B., & Hernández Ruiz, J. (2009). Protective effect of melatonin against chlorophyll degradation during the senescence of barley leaves. Journal of Pineal Research, 46(1), 58-63.‏
25.Qin, X., Nie, Z., Liu, H., Zhao, P., 2, S., & Shi, Z. (2018). Influence of selenium on root morphology and photosynthetic characteristics of winter wheat under cadmium stress. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 150, 232-239.
26.Saffaryazdi, A., Lahouti, M., Ganjeali, A., & Bayat, H. (2012). Impact of selenium supplementation on growth and selenium accumulation on spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) plants. Notulae Scientia Biologicae, 4(4), 95-100.‏
27.Arnao, M. B. (2014). Phytomelatonin: discovery, content, and role in plants. Advances in Botany, 2014(1), 815769.‏
28.Kavalcová, P., Bystrická, J., Trebichalský, P., Volnová, B., & Kopernická, M. (2021). The influence of selenium on content of total polyphenols and antioxidant activity of onion (Allium cepa L.). Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences, 2021, 238-240.‏
29.Gąsecka, M., Mleczek, M., Siwulski, M., Niedzielski, P., & Kozak, L. (2015). The effect of selenium on phenolics
and flavonoids in selected edible white rot fungi. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 63(1), 726-731.‏
30.Xu, J., & Hu, Q. (2004). Effect of foliar application of selenium on the antioxidant activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of selenium-enriched rice. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52(6), 1759-1763.‏
31.Xu, J., Yang, F., Chen, L., Hu, Y., & Hu, Q. (2003). Effect of selenium on increasing the antioxidant activity of
tea leaves harvested during the early spring tea producing season. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(4), 1081-1084.‏
32.Ramos, S. J., Faquin, V., Guilherme, L. R. G., Castro, E. M., Ávila, F. W., Carvalho, G. S., Bastos, C.E.A., & Oliveira, C. (2010). Selenium biofortification and antioxidant activity in lettuce plants fed with selenate and selenite. Plant, Soil and Environment, 56(12), 584-588.
33.Di, H., Li, Z., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Bian, J., Xu, J., Zheng, Y., Gong, R., Li, H., Zhang, F., & Sun, B. (2021). Melatonin Treatment Delays Senescence and Maintains the Postharvest Quality of Baby Mustard (Brassica juncea var. gemmifera). Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 817861.‏
34.Yang, X., Chen, J., Ma, Y., Huang, M., Qiu, T., Bian, H., & Wang, J. (2022). Function, Mechanism, and Application of Plant Melatonin: An Update with a Focus on the Cereal Crop, Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Antioxidants, 11(4), 634.
35.Khosravi, S., ValizadehKaji, B., & Abbasifar, A. (2022). Foliar Application of Selenium Affects Nitrate Accumulation and Morpho-physiochemical Responses of Garden Cress Plants. International Journal of Horticultural Science, 9(3), 329-338.‏
36.Santamaria, P. (2006). Nitrate in vegetables: toxicity, content, intake and EC regulation. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 86(1), 10-17.
37.Jalali, M., & Chegeni, N. S. (2020). The positive effect of selenium on nitrate accumulation in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Journal of Horticulture Science, 34(2), 321-334.‏
38.Skrypnik, L., Styran, T., Savina, T., & Golubkina, N. (2021). Effect of Selenium Application and Growth Stage at Harvest on Hydrophilic and Lipophilic Antioxidants in Lamb’s Lettuce (Valerianella locusta L. Laterr.). Plants, 10(12), 2733.
39.Bo, L. E. I., Bian, Z. H., Yang, Q. C., Jun, W. A. G., Cheng, R. F., Kun, L. I., Wen-ke, L. I. U., Hui, F. G., & Yun-Xin, T. G. (2018). The positive function of selenium supplementation on reducing nitrate accumulation in hydroponic lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 17(4), 837-846.
40.Zhou, X., Yang, T., Jiang, Z., He, Z., & Zou, Z. (2019). Regulation of melatonin on chlorophyll fluorescence and nitrate accumulation in lettuce seedlings under excess nitrate stress. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 330, No. 4, p. 042043). IOP Publishing.‏
41.Xie, Q., Luo, H., Cheng, X., Li, Z., Lu, W., He, Z., & Zhou, X. (2021). Effects of melatonin on growth, non-photochemical quenching and related components in tomato seedlings under calcium nitrate stress. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 621 (1), 012104.
42.Erdal, S. (2019). Melatonin promotes plant growth by maintaining integration and coordination between carbon and nitrogen metabolisms. Plant Cell Reports, 38(8), 1001-1012.‏
Journal of Plant Production Research
Volume 32, Issue 4
January 2026
Pages 147-163

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics