“…Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide radicals ( ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and hydroxyl radicals (OH − ), constitute the primary cause of oxidative damage, which damages cells by destroying membrane lipids ( McCord, 2000 ). To counter environmental stresses, plants have evolved sophisticated molecular mechanisms, such as ROS scavenging, phytohormone signalling pathway (those of abscisic acid (ABA)) activation, and secondary metabolism (including that involving flavonoids, melatonin, and secoisolariciresinol) ( Campo et al., 2014 ; Zhu, 2016 ; Meng et al., 2021 ; Feng et al., 2022 ; Song et al., 2022 ). Moreover, the antioxidant system plays important roles in reducing ROS levels by the action of several endogenous antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)) ( Mittler, 2002 ).…”