Open Access

ARTICLE

Exogenous Application of Hesperidin Ameliorates Chromium Toxicity in Wheat Irrigated with Tannery Wastewater

Gohar Ayoub¹, Shafaqat Ali^1,2,*, Muhammad Arslan Ashraf ^3,4, Shoaib Ahmad⁵, Mohamed A. El-Sheikh⁶

1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
2 Department of Biological Sciences and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan
3 Department of Botany, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
4 Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
5 State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
6 Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Author: Shafaqat Ali. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(3), 929-951. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.059288

Received 03 October 2024; Accepted 26 January 2025; Issue published 31 March 2025

Abstract

Chromium (Cr), a persistent soil pollutant, has detrimental effects on plants and living things, and its contamination in soil increased as a result of human-induced activities. Pakistan suffers from a lack of fresh water supplies; hence most people use metal-containing water and wastewater to irrigate their crops. Exposure to Cr toxicity, the plant reduces their morphological and physiological growth which ultimately decreases crop productivity. The current study was designed to investigate the foliar application of hesperidin (HSP) at varying effluent rates (25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L⁻¹) on wheat growth under tannery wastewater irrigated soil. Cr toxicity caused a change in the concentration of chlorophyll molecules, indicating early signs of stress. Modifications in the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, the elevated activity of chlorophyllase, and the generation of reactive oxygen species were causing the reduction in chlorophyll. Cr stress disrupted total soluble protein concentrations and the activity of antioxidation-related enzymes and NRA, suggesting the onset of oxidative stress. On the other hand, the application of HSP reduced oxidative damage by improving protein concentration (37%), chlorophyll concentration (37%), and antioxidant enzyme activity such as CAT (65%), SOD (46%), and POD (68%). Furthermore, HSP raised the concentrations of non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules, which may indicate better redox homeostasis and stress tolerance. These molecules include GSH, GSSG, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolics, and anthocyanins. HSP therapy lessened the impact of Cr stress on lipid peroxidation markers. HSP enhanced these measures during the investigation. Cr stress raised the concentrations of total free amino acids and nitrogen oxide and decreased the radical scavenging activity in wheat. Cr stress raised the concentration of all soluble sugars, primarily reducing and non-reducing sugars, whereas the application of HSP strengthened these osmo protectants even more results of the present investigation indicate that exogenous HSP is a feasible and eco-friendly approach to improving plant resistance against Cr toxicity by efficiently reducing the physiological strain and metabolic stress caused by Cr in wheat plants.

---

Keywords

---