Priming of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn seeds with H2O2 and magnetic field ameliorates seawater stress

Abstract

Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn is an important medicinal plant and has been used as a traditional medicine for diseases of the liver and biliary tract. The effects of seed priming by H2O2 (Haloprimig) and magnetic field (Magnetopriming, MF) on the impacts of seawater concentration were tested using S. marianum at the vegetative stage. These plant species accumulate flavonoids especially slimarine that is used in liver treatment. Some soaked S. marianum seeds were subjected to 0.18 T MF for different time durations (0, 10, 20 and 30 min) and other seeds were soaked in different concentrations of H2O2 (0, 80,160 and 240μM) for 8h. H2O2 priming increased growth and development under water irrigation more than under sea water stress. Moreover, our results uncovered statistical evidence that the priming seeds with H2O2 and MF increased the tolerance of S. marianum to salinity. In summary, we provide clear evidence that seawater stress caused a highly significant reduction in the growth parameters and stimulation in proline and phenolic compounds. It was concluded that, application of H2O2 and MF of S. marianum could scavenge or alleviate the harmful effects of salinity stress at early seedling stage and alleviate the oxidative damage leading to improvements in physiological attributes for the plant growth under sea water stress.