Improvement of Phenolic Compounds, Essential Oil Content and Antioxidant Properties of Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Depending on Type and Concentration of Selenium Application.

Liubov Skrypnik,Anastasia Novikova,Elina Tokupova

doi:10.3390/plants8110458

Liubov Skrypnik, Anastasia Novikova + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8110458

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Abstract

The effect of selenium biofortification on phytomass yield, selenium, essential oil and phenolic compounds content as well as antioxidant properties of basil leaves was investigated. Selenium in form of sodium selenate was applied either in nutrient solution or by foliar spraying at three levels (2.0, 5.0 and 10.0 μM). Selenium treatment significantly increased Se concentration in leaves up to 20.23 μg g−1 (addition in nutrient solution) and 10.74 μg g−1 (foliar application). Neither a toxic nor a beneficial effect of Se addition on the plants was observed. Se application of 2 µM Se in nutrient solution and of 5 µM Se by foliar spraying successfully enhanced production of essential oils, hydroxycinnamic acids, total phenolics and antioxidant activity of basil leaves. The anthocyanin content was positively affected only by application of Se in nutrient solution. Considering both an increase in the Se concentration in basil leaves and an increase in the production of phytonutrients, the optimal doses of selenium can be considered to be 5 and 10 μM for Se addition in nutrient solution and by foliar treatment, respectively. The results confirm the possibility of the enrichment of basil plants with selenium and thereby improving the nutritional qualities of the human diet.

Highlights

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual plant of the Lamiaceae family, growing wild in subtropical and tropical areas of America, Africa, Asia, and in some southern regions in Europe [1]
The untreated basil plants were characterized by a low selenium concentration in their leaves, accounting for 0.014 μg g−1 (Table 1)
When using 2 μM selenium, the selenium concentration in the leaves increased by 75 times and by 39 times

Summary

Introduction

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual plant of the Lamiaceae family, growing wild in subtropical and tropical areas of America, Africa, Asia, and in some southern regions in Europe [1]. The cultivation of basil is performed under natural as well as greenhouse conditions. In comparison to traditional soil culture, hydroponic cultivation of basil has additional benefits, such as using less ground area to obtain a higher yield of biomass characterized by better quality properties [3]. The medicinal properties of basil are associated with the presence in its leaves of a whole complex of biologically active compounds of various chemical structures [5]. The phenolic compounds listed above make the main contribution to the antioxidant properties of basil leaf extracts. Another important component of basil leaves and flowers is essential oil, which is of high value for the food and pharmaceutical application of this plant. The essential oils distilled from various basil cultivars can contain linalool, methyl chavicol, 1,8-cineole, eugenol, methyl

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