Effect of Plasma-Activated Water Irrigation on Aloe Growth and Metabolite Production

Aloe is a tropical crop used worldwide for beauty industry and medical purposes. In this study, plasma activated water (PAW) and distilled water (DW) were used for aloe cultivation, and the effects of treatments on growth and metabolites of aloe were investigated. Our study results showed that PAW treatment significantly improved the number, length, width of leaves, internode length, and biomass of aloe. However, stem thickness was not significantly different in both DW and PAW treatments, showing almost similar growth phenotypes. In addition to the plant biomass, the ratio of anthraquinone content, one of the metabolite compounds in aloe that possess anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, increased in both PAW treated leaf and root tissues compared with DW treated samples. These findings indicate that PAW not only promotes aloe growth but also increases the amounts of beneficial bio-active compound.