The effect of urea, nano-nitrogen fertilizer and amino acid on polyphenolic compounds of purple coneflower (Echinaceae purpurea L.)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Student, Department of Medicinal Plants, Shahid Bakari High Education Center of Miandoab, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Plants, Shahid Bakari High Education Center of Miandoab, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Purple coneflower (Echinaceae purpurea L.) is one of the famous and useful medicinal herbs of the Asteraceae family (Mrozikiewicz et al., 2010). Active and important components of this plant include phenols (caffeic acid, coumaric acid, rosemaric acid, chlorogenic acid and gallic acid) and essential oil (jermacheron, betacariophylene and homolene) (Thomsen et al., 2012). It is widely used for the treatment of chronic respiratory and urinary tract infections, viral infections, enhancement of the immune system, defense and burns and has a high antioxidant activity (Tsai et al., 2012). Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the growth and development of medicinal plants and naturally changes the yield of the crop. Therefore, it affects the quantity and quality of the active substances of medicinal plants (El-Sayed et al., 2012). Considering the benefits and the role of purple coneflower plant in medicinal industries, and the importance of polyphenolic compounds, in this research, the application of nano-nitrogen, amino acids and urea fertilizer and their effects on polyphenolic compounds and total nitrogen content in purple coneflower were investigated.
Material and methods: In this study, in order to evaluate the effect of fertigation of urea and foliar spray of nano-nitrogen and amino acid fertilizers on polyphenol content of Echinacea purpurea, a factorial experiment based on a complete randomized design was held in Zaringiah greenhouse in Urmia on 2019. Experimental treatments included urea fertilizer (0, 100 and 200 kg/ha), nano-nitrogen spraying solution (0, 1 and 3 g/L) and spraying with commerical amino acid fertilizer (0, 1 and 3 g/L). To extract the polyphenols, one gram of the powdered plant sample was added to 20 ml of water-methanol solvent (25:75), the extraction process was performed by ultrasonic instrument for 40 min. The identification and quantification of the phenolic acids under study were performed using a high performance liquid chromatography 1100 Series manufactured by Agilent USA. Total nitrogen was measured by Kjeldahl method (AOAC, 2000). Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (ver. 24).
Results and discussion: In purple coneflower plant, gallic acid was maximized by application of 3 g/L of nanonitrogen. Cinnamic acid and apigenin compounds were obtained at highest level by application of 1 and 3 g/L of amino acid, respectively. Chlorogenic acid and quercetin compounds were maximized by simultaneous application of 1 g/L of nanonitrogen and 3 g/L of amino acid. Coumaric acid and rosemaric acid with simultaneous application of 3 g/L of amino acid and 200 kg/ha of urea and caffeic acid and rutin by applying 200 kg/ha of urea reach to their maximum value. Since the composition of coumaric acid had the highest amount among other polyphenolic compounds (about 31 mg/50 g of dried plants), it was selected as the main compound of this plant. This compound has various applications in the perfume and pharmaceutical industries. Optimal treatment for coumaric acid, namely "nanonitrogen-0, amino acid-3, urea-200", is also optimal for rosemaric acid, and also in this treatment the amount of some important polyphenolic compounds such as gallic acid, rutin and chlorogenic acid is considerable. Therefore, in order to increase the important polyphenolic compounds in purple coneflower, the optimum treatment is 3 g/l amino acid and 200 kg/har simultaneously.
Measurement of plant nitrogen content showed that nano-nitrogen, amino acid and urea fertilizer solution increased total nitrogen content in plant shoot compared to control. Also, the effect of urea, nano-nitrogen and amino acid levels on the total nitrogen concentration of shoots showed that the total nitrogen accumulation in shoots increased with increasing nitrogen level. Increasing the nitrogen supply of the plant causes better synthesis of nitrogen compounds in the plant (both primary metabolites and secondary metabolites) followed by the plant's nitrogen content. However, the application of large amounts of different nitrogen fertilizers at the same time has a negative effect on nitrogen uptake.
Conclusions: The results of polyphenolic compounds of the purple coneflower plant showed that the use of nitrogen fertilizers in different forms can increase the polyphenolic compounds by providing nitrogen. Due to the difference of biosynthetic pathway of different polyphenolic coumponds in purple coneflower, it is not easy to recommend an optimal nitrogen resource with the optimal value for all the phenolic compounds. But at all, the treatment of "nanonitrogen-0, amino acids-3, urea-200", which was optimal for coumaric acid and rosemaric acid and did not cause significant damage to the amount of gallic acid, rutin and chlorogenic acid, is introduced as a optimal treatment. Therefore, in order to increase the content of important polyphenolic compounds in purple coneflower, simultaneous foliar spray of 3 g/l amino acid and fertigation application of 200 kg/ha of urea is the best treatment. This improves the antioxidant properties of the plant extract and, consequently, its medicinal properties.

Keywords

References

 
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