Effects of nitric oxide on composition of the isolated essential oil from Satureja hortensis L. (Lamiaceae), under the cadmium stress

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the heavy metals that cause environmental pollution and biochemical changes in plants grown in contaminated soils. In plants, sodium nitroprusside is used as a nitric oxide (NO) release agent. In this research, a glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to examine the effect of exogenous NO on the essential oil composition of the savory plant, Satureja hortensis, under the Cd stress. For this, the plants were treated by different levels of Cd concentration including 0 (control), 75, 100, and 150 µM in the contaminated soil. Plants were also foliar sprayed with concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 100, and 200 µM NO. The results indicated that carvacrol was the main compound in all examined essential oils. Also, there were significant differences among the essential compounds under treatments of Cd and NO. Moreover, the differences among minor constituents were not significant in most of treatments. In apposite, carvacrol (approximately 60% of total volume) showed a significant difference than the others. The results indicated the role of exogenous agents on the changes of essential oil constituents in S. hortensis.