Effects of salt stress on the morphological characteristics, total phenol and total anthocyanin contents of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.)

Abstract

Salinity is an abiotic stress which affects the morphological and physiological characteristics of plants. In order to evaluate the effects of different concentrations (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 mM) of NaCl on some morphological and physiological parameters in Roselle, an experiment was conducted using a simple randomized design with three replications. The results showed that salt stress decreased plant height, number of leaves and shoot fresh weight. In addition, there were no differences between treatments in the fresh and dry weight of flowers, significantly, but the number of flowers decreased in the treatments of 120 and 160 mM NaCl. The total phenolic content showed a significant reduction between the control and other concentrations except for 40 mM NaCl, but the total anthocyanin content showed a significant increase in 40 mM NaCl. The results of this study indicated the possible effect of the low saline concentration on the increase of anthocyanin content, with no change on flower yield.