Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) Nanoparticles Alleviate Growth Inhibition and Oxidative Stress Caused by Heavy Metals in Young Seedlings of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L)

Abstract

Accumulation of heavy metals in the ecosystem and their toxic effects through food chain can cause serious ecological and health problems. In the present study, experiments were performed to understand how the addition of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles reduces the toxicity caused by Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn in cucumber plants. Plant growth parameters, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzymes were measured in seedling samples treated with either metals or metals supplemented with Fe 3 O 4 to demonstrate the reduction in metal-induced oxidative stress conferred by Fe 3 O 4 . Results showed that the toxic effect of metals on seedling growth parameters can be arranged in the rank order of inhibition as follows: Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb. Exposure to metals significantly decreased the seedlings growth, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidases (POD), while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content significantly increased in cucumber seedlings. The reducing activity of nano-Fe 3 O 4 against heavy metals stresses was confirmed in this study by the decrease in MDA content. The correlation between the decrease of MDA concentration and the increase in SOD and POD activities in the presence of nano-Fe 3 O 4 suggest that the MDA reduction in the tested seedlings can result from the increased enzyme activity.

Cooperative effects of iron oxide nanoparticle (α-Fe2O3) and citrate on germination and oxidative system of evening primrose (Oenthera biennis L.)

“…Nanoparticles can activate anti-stress activities in plants (Taran et al 2016). To eliminate ROS and reduce the toxic effects of heavy metals, plants are equipped with enzymatic antioxidant systems including SOD and POD (Konate et al 2017). According to our results, IONPs induced higher oxidative stress and higher activity of antioxidant enzymes than bα-Fe 2 O 3 , which is consistent with Wang et al (2011) results.…”

ICP-MS based metallomics and GC-MS based metabolomics reveals the physiological and metabolic responses of Dendrobium huoshanense plants exposed to Fe3O4 nanoparticles

“…Liu et al ( 16 ) cultured seedlings of Lactuca sativa with FeO X NPs, which significantly promoted the length of lettuce shoot. The unique peroxidase (POD)-like activity of Fe 3 O 4 NPs can increase the chlorophyll content and biomass of Quercus macdougallii ( 17 ) and increase POD enzyme activity of Cucumis sativus seedlings ( 18 ), respectively. However, iron-based NPs can also have phytotoxic effects on plants.…”