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Brassinolide as potential rescue agent for Pinellia ternata grown under microplastic condition: Insights into their modulatory role on photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, and AsA-GSH cycling
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Researchers found that microplastic stress suppresses growth and photosynthesis in the medicinal plant Pinellia ternata while paradoxically boosting secondary metabolites, and that brassinolide treatment restores plant height and biomass by improving photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activity, and the ascorbate-glutathione cycle.
Microplastic (MP), as a new pollutant, not only affects the growth and development of plants but also may affect the secondary metabolites of plants. The anti-tumor role of Pinellia ternata is related to secondary metabolites. The role of brassinolide (BR) in regulating plant resistance is currently one of the research hotspots. The paper mainly explores the regulation of BR on growth and physiology of Pinellia ternata under MP stress. The experimental design includes two levels of MP (0, 1%) and two levels of BR (0, 0.1 mg/L). MP led to a marked reduction in plant height (15.0%), Fv/Fm (3.2%), SOD and APX activity (15.0%, 5.1%), whereas induced an evident raise in the rate of O· production (29.6%) and GSH content (4.4%), as well as flavonoids (6.8%), alkaloids (75%), and β-sitosterol (26.5%) contents. Under MP addition, BR supply significantly increased plant height (15.7%), aboveground and underground biomass (16.1%, 10.3%), carotenoid and GSH content (11.8%, 4.2%), Fv/Fm (2.9%), and activities of SOD, GR, and MDHAR (32.2%, 21.08%, 20.9%). These results indicate that MP suppresses the growth of P. ternata, although it promotes secondary metabolism. BR can alleviate the inhibitory effect of MP on growth by improving photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, and the AsA-GSH cycle.
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Researchers investigated how brassinolide (BR) application modifies the rhizosphere microecology of Pinellia ternata under microplastic stress, finding that BR altered soil chemical properties and microbial community structure in ways that ameliorated microplastic-induced adverse effects. The study provides evidence that plant hormone treatments can partially restore rhizosphere ecology disrupted by microplastic contamination.
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This plant science study found that microplastics in soil reduced the growth and altered the secondary metabolite chemistry of Pinellia ternata, a medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. Applying the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) partially counteracted the microplastic stress, restoring some growth parameters and enzyme activities. The research suggests that microplastic pollution in agricultural soils could affect the quality and pharmacological properties of medicinal crops — an underexplored consequence of plastic contamination. It also points to potential mitigation strategies using plant growth hormones.
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