Abstract
The UV-B-induced signals play a crucial role in improving the analeptic values of medicinally important plants. Eclipta alba L. (Hassak), commonly known as False Daisy, holds supreme stature with its pharmaceutical association in treating various ailments, particularly in Ayurvedic medicine. The present study aimed to evaluate the response of E. alba plants exposed to ambient (AT) and two different supplemental UV-B doses (eUV-B, ambient ±7.2 kJ m−2 day−1), i.e., intermittent (IT) and continuous (CT) UV-B treatment for 130 and 240 h respectively. Antioxidative activities and medicinally important compounds (wedelolactone) were measured in different plants’ parts at three growth stages. Under both the eUV-B treatments, the photosynthetic pigments were adversely affected (along with reductions in protein content) with a concomitant increase in secondary metabolites. Substantial variations in enzymatic antioxidants and non-enzymatic compounds showed the adaptive resilience strategies of plants against eUV-B. The wedelolactone content increased in leaves but compromised in stem and roots under IT. The results concluded that IT UV-B exposure led to the improvement of plant growth and the yield of wedelolactone compared to CT, suggesting its ameliorative role in improving the test plant’s medicinal value.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to the Head, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, for providing all the necessary laboratory facilities, Coordinator CAS in Botany, FIST (DST), and ISLS BHU. Special thanks to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for the financial support in the form of a research project (CSIR\P-25\365). Kshama Rai is thankful to the Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, for the financial assistance.
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This research was supported by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi (CSIR), in the form of the research project (CSIR\P-25\365).
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K. R. collected, estimated, analyzed, and interpreted the experimental data. S. B. A. planned the experiment, and checked and evaluated the data and manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Rai, K., Agrawal, S.B. An assessment of dose-dependent UV-B sensitivity in Eclipta alba: Biochemical traits, antioxidative properties, and wedelolactone yield. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 45434–45449 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13963-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13963-x