The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of silicon (Si) and nano-silicon (NSi) on growth, yield, ions content, and antioxidant defense systems, including transcript levels of enzyme-encoding genes in Pisum sativum plants grown under salinity stress. Both Si and NSi were applied at the 3 mM level and NaCl was applied at 4 concentrations (100, 150, 200 and 250 mM). Vegetative growth, including plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry weights, and yield attributes were determined. Gene expression of antioxidant enzymes was analyzed, and their activities were determined. The results showed that salinity had deleterious effects on plant growth and yield. Salt-stressed plant leaves exhibited a greater activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), but a lower activity of catalase (CAT) when compared to the control. Na⁺ ions accumulated in roots and shoots of salinized plants. The application of Si and NSi significantly enhanced vegetative growth and relative water content (RWC), and caused significant increases in plant height, fresh and dry weight, total yield, and antioxidant defense systems. Si and NSi enhanced K⁺ content in roots and shoots under salinity treatment and decreased Na⁺ content in the studied tissues. It was concluded that the application of NSi was beneficial in improving the salt tolerance of Pisum sativum plants more than Si alone.

Waste generation is a global issue that necessitates effective management for both human and animal health as well as environment. There are several ways to reduce waste, but recycling appears to be the best choice. By recycling, not only will the problem of pollution be resolved, but valuable compounds could be generated to be used as nutrients for plants. In this study, eco-friendly methods were established to produce α- and β-chitosan (CS) (as a source of nitrogen) with different degrees of deacetylation from shrimp shells and squid pin waste, phosphorous through degreasing and calcination of bovine bone and potassium from evaporation of banana peels Kolakhar. The waste bulk products were physically characterized and dry-milled into nano-powders. Different concentrations of the produced nano-NPK fertilizer (10%, 25%, 50% and 100%) were foliar-applied to Capsicum annum L. cv. Cordoba plants and compared to commercial chemical fertilizer and untreated control plants. The obtained results revealed that the nano-composite NPK with 25% concentration significantly promoted growth, yield and harvest of C. annuum as compared with the control and chemical fertilizer-treated plants. This study demonstrated that the use of an eco-friendly preparation of waste NPK composites, with a low concentration, could be applied as foliar fertilizer over chemical fertilizer to enhance the growth and productivity of Capsicum.

Green synthesis of nanoparticles is receiving more attention these days since it is simple to use and prepare, uses fewer harsh chemicals and chemical reactions, and is environmentally benign. A novel strategy aims to recycle poisonous plant chemicals and use them as natural stabilizing capping agents for nanoparticles. In this investigation, silver nanoparticles loaded with latex from Cynanchum acutum L. (Cy-AgNPs) were examined using a transmission electron microscope, FT-IR spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. Additionally, using Vicia faba as a model test plant, the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects of crude latex and various concentrations of Cy-AgNPs were studied. The majority of the particles were spherical in shape. The highest antioxidant activity using DPPH was illustrated for CAgNPs (25 mg/L) (70.26 ± 1.32%) and decreased with increased concentrations of Cy-AGNPs. Antibacterial activity for all treatments was determined showing that the highest antibacterial activity was for Cy-AgNPs (50 mg/L) with inhibition zone 24 ± 0.014 mm against Bacillus subtilis, 19 ± 0.12 mm against Escherichia coli, and 23 ± 0.015 against Staphylococcus aureus. For phytochemical analysis, the highest levels of secondary metabolites from phenolic content, flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids, were found in Cy-AgNPs (25 mg/L). Vicia faba treated with Cy-AgNPs- (25 mg/L) displayed the highest mitotic index (MI%) value of 9.08% compared to other Cy-AgNP concentrations (50–100 mg/L) and C. acutum crude latex concentrations (3%). To detect cytotoxicity, a variety of chromosomal abnormalities were used, including micronuclei at interphase, disturbed at metaphase and anaphase, chromosomal stickiness, bridges, and laggards. The concentration of Cy-AgNPs (25 mg/L) had the lowest level of chromosomal aberrations, with a value of 23.41% versus 20.81% for the control. Proteins from seeds treated with V. faba produced sixteen bands on SDS-PAGE, comprising ten monomorphic bands and six polymorphic bands, for a total percentage of polymorphism of 37.5%. Eight ISSR primers were employed to generate a total of 79 bands, 56 of which were polymorphic and 23 of which were common. Primer ISSR 14 has the highest level of polymorphism (92.86%), according to the data. Using biochemical SDS-PAGE and ISSR molecular markers, Cy-AgNPs (25 mg/L) showed the highest percentage of genomic template stability (GTS%), with values of 80% and 51.28%, respectively. The findings of this work suggest employing CyAgNPs (25 mg/L) in pharmaceutical purposes due to its highest content of bioactive compounds and lowest concentration of chromosomal abnormalities.

Aerva javanica is one of Egypt’s most important traditional medicinal plants used as antidiarrheal and anthelmintic medicine and recently as an anticancer agent. In this study, variations among ten populations of Aerva javanica in different sites in the Eastern Desert of Egypt were analyzed based on morphological and ecological attributes and molecular variation expressed by Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. Morphological diversity was higher for populations in the Wadi El-Markh and Bir Abbady regions than others. The polymorphism revealed by ten ISSR primers was 79.4% among populations. Distance trees created using the results obtained from soil variables, morphological characterizations, and molecular data showed that the highest similarity was 0.974 between Populations 8 and 9, while the lowest similarity was 0.715 between Population 1 and Population 3 regions. In conclusion, the obtained data are important to design a plan for sustainable conservation of Aerva javanica as an important medicinal plant having a wide interspecific genetic variability within various populations.

The current study aimed to detect the mutagenic impacts of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), which is produced by Aspergillus group fungi, via a high-plant genotoxicity test. Different durations of treatment (3 h, 6 h, and 12 h) were used to treat the Vicia faba root tips with varying concentrations of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) following the approved protocol for plant assays published by the International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The data obtained indicated that AFB1 not only has the ability to induce various alterations in the process of mitosis, ranging from increasing to decreasing mitotic and phase indices but also leads to many mitotic aberrations. The abnormalities observed varied on the basis of the ratio of AFB1 to treatment time. The aberrations included micronuclei in interphase, stickiness; two groups ring star disturbed and oblique metaphase late separation diagonal bridge and laggard and disturbed. anaphase and telophase. This study showed that biomonitoring Vicia faba is a sustainable method for estimating the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of applied AFB1. Additionally, AFB1 caused changes in the protein profile detected by SDS‒PAGE, with each treated sample displaying a unique electrophoretic pattern due to the formation and disappearance of certain bands. The ISSR and RAPD assays changes in band numbers in all samples compared with the untreated control, and a decrease in genetic template stability (GTS) ratios was observed with higher levels of AFB1. The image cytometric data revealed a correlation between the dosage of AFB1 and its impact on cell cycle components in the meristematic cells of Vicia faba roots. Furthermore, an increase in AFB1 concentrationled to a decrease in B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) levels, an increase in chromatin condensation levels, and an increase in poly ADP‒ribose polymorphism (PARP) levels.