Abstract
Drought stress is one of the major constraints limiting crop productivity, primarily through oxidative damage, pigment degradation, and metabolic imbalance. Nanostructured selenium particles (SeNPs) have recently attracted attention for their potential to enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stress. In this study, green-synthesized SeNPs, with a main hydrodynamic size distribution in the range of 90–100 nm, were foliar applied to broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) plants grown under well-watered (100% water holding capacity) and drought (50% water holding capacity) conditions at concentrations of 0, 10, 20 and 50 ppm. Drought stress significantly decreased chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids, while increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline levels, confirming oxidative stress and membrane damage. SeNPs treatments partially mitigated these effects by enhancing pigment stability, increasing carotenoid content, and reducing both MDA and proline accumulation. Phenolic and flavonoid responses exhibited a dose-dependent pattern with the highest stimulation at 50 ppm under drought and moderate enhancement at 10 ppm under optimal irrigation. Antioxidant capacity assays demonstrated that SeNPs modulate plant redox metabolism, in a context-dependent manner, particularly under water deficit. Peroxidase (POD) activity was also significantly induced under drought stress, mainly at 20 ppm. These results indicate that foliar-applied SeNPs can influence physiological and biochemical responses associated with drought tolerance in broccoli. The observed effects are consistent with nanoparticle–leaf surface interactions contributing to redox regulation and stress adaptation, rather than implying direct nanoparticle internalization.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Drought decreased broccoli chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italica
Brassica oleracea var. italicat0 - Treatment
- Drought stresse0
- Outcome
- chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoidse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“Drought stress significantly decreased chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought increased broccoli MDA and proline levels.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- Drought stresse0
- Outcome
- malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline levelse0
- Direction
- increasinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“Drought stress significantly decreased chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids, while increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline levels”
Claim · model-written summary
SeNPs enhanced broccoli pigment stability and carotenoid content.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- SeNPs treatmentse0
- Outcome
- pigment stability, increasing carotenoid contente0
- Direction
- enhancinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“SeNPs treatments partially mitigated these effects by enhancing pigment stability, increasing carotenoid content”
Claim · model-written summary
SeNPs reduced broccoli MDA and proline accumulation.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- SeNPs treatmentse0
- Outcome
- MDA and proline accumulatione0
- Direction
- reducinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“SeNPs treatments partially mitigated these effects by enhancing pigment stability, increasing carotenoid content, and reducing both MDA and proline accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
Phenolic and flavonoid responses were greatest at 50 ppm under drought.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- 50 ppm under droughte0
- Outcome
- Phenolic and flavonoid responsese0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“Phenolic and flavonoid responses exhibited a dose-dependent pattern with the highest stimulation at 50 ppm under drought”
Claim · model-written summary
Phenolic and flavonoid responses showed moderate enhancement at 10 ppm under optimal irrigation.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- 10 ppm under optimal irrigatione0
- Outcome
- Phenolic and flavonoid responsese1
- Direction
- enhancemente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“moderate enhancement at 10 ppm under optimal irrigation”
e1“Phenolic and flavonoid responses exhibited a dose-dependent pattern”
Claim · model-written summary
SeNPs modulated broccoli antioxidant capacity in a context-dependent manner, particularly under water deficit.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- SeNPse0
- Outcome
- Antioxidant capacitye0
- Qualifier
- under water deficite0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“Antioxidant capacity assays demonstrated that SeNPs modulate plant redox metabolism, in a context-dependent manner, particularly under water deficit”
Claim · model-written summary
Broccoli peroxidase activity was significantly induced under drought, mainly at 20 ppm SeNPs.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea var. italicaBrassica oleracea var. italicat0
- Treatment
- drought stresse0
- Outcome
- Peroxidase (POD) activitye0
- Direction
- inducede0
- Qualifier
- mainly at 20 ppme0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Brassica oleracea var. italica”
e0“Peroxidase (POD) activity was also significantly induced under drought stress, mainly at 20 ppm”
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See all 5 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.