Mitigation effect of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on some metabolic compounds of maize seedling grown under salt stress

Abstract

Salt stress is considered as a major limiting factor for plant growth and crop productivity. The present study was conducted to investigate whether using nitric oxide (NO) molecule could alleviate the adverse effects of salt stress in maize (Zea mays L.) seedling. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was used at 60 μM concentration, as NO donor in the nutrient solution of maize seedlings grown with three concentrations of NaCl (0.0, 150 and 200 mM). Leaf samples were collected on the 7th and 15th day after NaCl treatment. Chlorophyll contents and lipid peroxidation gave different values under salt stress. The NO treated seedling showed high content of proline, phenolic and flavonoid. Nitric oxide induced an increase in antioxidant enzymes including peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities. These data indicated that the exogenous NO application is useful way to mitigate the salinity-induced oxidative stress in maize seedling.