Using silicon seed priming technology to increase the ability of the medicinal fenugreek plant (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) to withstand the toxicity of ZnO NPs

Recently, seed priming has gained significant attention as a technique to enhance stress tolerance in various crop plants. The current research investigated the alleviative effect of seed priming with silicon (Si, 2 mM Na2SiO3) on the early growth and antioxidant activity of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), an aromatic and medicinal plant when exposed to zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) toxicity levels (0, 100, and 200 mg L-1). The findings revealed that ZnO NPs toxicity had a notable detrimental effect on growth-related factors. However, Si priming proved effective in attenuating oxidative stress, promoting growth, and increasing the levels of soluble metabolites (soluble carbohydrates, soluble proteins, and free amino acids) in the presence of ZnO NPs toxicity. Moreover, Si priming significantly enhanced both enzymatic and non-enzymatic plant antioxidants compared to non-primed plants under ZnO NPs stress. Therefore, the results of this study support the use of seed priming in Si which was mostly effective in improving the growth and physiological traits of fenugreek plants by alleviating the detrimental effects of ZnO NPs toxicity.