Effects of Preharvest Methyl Jasmonate and Salicylic Acid Treatments on Growth, Quality, Volatile Components, and Antioxidant Systems of Chinese Chives

Abstract

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) regulate the production of biologically active compounds in plants and stimulate the accumulation of plant aromatic substances. However, the underlying mechanisms of how MeJA and SA influence characteristic flavor compounds and the antioxidant activity of vegetables are poorly understood. Five MeJA and SA concentrations were used to investigate the dose-dependent effects of these phytohormones on the dry and fresh weight; chlorophyll abundance; the contents of vitamin C, soluble protein, and sugar, nitrate, total phenols, flavonoids, volatile components, and enzymatically produced pyruvic acid; and antioxidant activity in Chinese chive. We found that MeJA and SA at concentrations of 500 and 150 μM, respectively, significantly increased the levels of total chlorophyll, phenols and flavonoids, vitamin C, and volatile components and significantly reduced the accumulation of nitrate. In addition, compared with the control, 500 μM of MeJA significantly increased the soluble sugar and protein content, and 150 μM SA significantly increased the dry and fresh weight of Chinese chive. Furthermore, these concentrations of MeJA and SA significantly increased the enzymatic pyruvate content and the amount of sulfide and aromatic volatile compounds and improved the characteristic flavor compounds. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity, Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity, and ferric-reducing antioxidant capacity were significantly improved after a preharvest treatment with 500 μM MeJA and 150 μM SA, which could improve the antioxidant activity, thus improving the postharvest quality and preservation characteristics of Chinese chives. Taken together, a preharvest treatment with 500 μM MeJA and 150 μM SA is optimal to improve the growth, quality, antioxidant activity, and flavor of Chinese chive, thereby enhancing its commercial value.

Effect of Methyl Jasmonate Treatment on Primary and Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Capacity of the Substrate and Hydroponically Grown Chinese Chives

“…The MeJA treatment significantly increased (2.8–47%) the phenolic content of the substrate-grown Chinese chives compared with that of SCK, and the 500 μM MeJA treatment had the most significant effect. This was consistent with our previous study, where the application of 500 μM MeJA increased the total phenol contents in Chinese chives ( 66 ). The phenolic compounds of hydroponic Chinese chives treated with 500 and 800 μM MeJA were significantly higher than those of the HCK group.…”

“…This was similar to the trend of changes observed in the levels of phenolic compounds after the MeJA treatment. In addition to phenolic compounds, sulfur-containing compounds ( 66 ), vitamin C ( 98 ), chlorophylls ( 99 ), carotenoids ( 100 ), and polysaccharides ( 101 ) also showed strong antioxidant activity.…”

Hydroponics and elicitation, a combined approach to enhance the production of designer secondary medicinal metabolites in Silybum marianum

“…Exogenously used elicitors modulate the expression of a number of genes during plant development both under normal and stress conditions ( Horbowicz et al, 2011b ; Donati et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2021 ). These act as signaling molecules in response to environmental challenges and are crucial in the overproduction of important secondary metabolites, including flavonoids ( Akula and Ravishankar, 2011 ).…”

“…Exogenously used elicitors modulate the expression of a number of genes during plant development both under normal and stress conditions (Horbowicz et al, 2011b;Donati et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2021). These act as signaling Effect of different treatments of elicitors on total phenolic content of Silybum marianum in hydroponics.…”

Genome‐wide characterization of the terpene synthase gene family in Ricinus communis and its transcriptional regulation under heat stress

“…Methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid act as plant elicitors, which regulate the production and accumulation of biologically‐active and stress‐related metabolites. It has been shown that a preharvest treatment with MeJa and salicylic acid enhanced the commercial value of A. tuberosum by modulating its growth and the antioxidant potential of its leaves (Wang et al., 2022). Similarly, auxin and gibberellin regulate several physiological and developmental events, including responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.…”