The present study was designed to investigate the effects of cadmium (Cd) on biochemical, physiological and cytological parameters of Capsicum annuum L. treated with five different concentrations (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 ppm) of the metal. Shoot-root length, pigment and protein content showed a continuous decrease with increasing Cd concentrations and the maximal decline was observed at the higher concentration. Proline content was found to be increased upto 60 ppm while at higher concentrations it gradually decreased. MDA content and chromosomal aberrations increased as the concentration increased. Additionally Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used for the detection of genotoxicity induced by Cd. A total of 184 bands (62 polymorphic and 122 monomorphic) were generated in 5 different concentrations with 10 primers where primer OPA-02 generated the highest percentage of polymorphism (52.63%). Dendrogram showed that control, R1 and R2 showed similar cluster and R4 and R5 grouped with R3 into one cluster, which showed that plants from higher doses showed much difference than the plants selected at mild doses which resemble control at the DNA level. This investigation showed that RAPD marker is a useful tool for evaluation of genetic diversity and relationship among different metal concentrations.

Plants possess various defense mechanisms to cope with genotoxic and environmental challenges, with high temperatures posing a significant threat due to global warming. In this investigation, ten-day-old Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) seedlings were cultivated in a controlled environment chamber with conditions set at 70–80% relative humidity, a day/night cycle of 25/18 °C, and a photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of 1000 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. Other groups of seedlings were subjected to temperatures of 30, 35, or 40 °C. Our research aimed to investigate the relationship between temperature intensity, duration, growth responses, physiological and metabolic activities, and the stress alleviation by salicylic acid. The results demonstrated that high temperatures significantly reduced plant growth, membrane stability, while increasing proline and protein content, as well as electrolyte leakage in the leaves. The most pronounced results were observed when exposed to 40 °C for 24 h. Salicylic acid completely mitigated the negative impacts of high-temperature stress when it was applied at 40 °C for 24 h. We utilized two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to examine proteins across three groups: control plants, stressed plants, and plants subjected to salicylic acid treatment. Our results revealed that, among the proteins influenced by high-temperature stress, 12 displayed the most significant differences in regulation. These stress-responsive proteins played roles in signal transduction, stress defense, detoxification, amino acid metabolism, protein metabolism (including translation, processing, and degradation), photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy pathways. These proteins may hold practical implications for diverse biological activities. In conclusion, salicylic acid treatment enhanced thermotolerance in fenugreek plants, although further investigation is required at the genome level to elucidate the mechanism of salicylic acid action under heat stress.

The present experiment was undertaken to determine the mutagenic potential of lead on the cytomorphology of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and to determine the maximum concentration of lead nitrate that induces maximum genetic variability. The seeds were treated with 6 different concentrations (10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ppm) of lead nitrate. The higher concentrations of lead nitrate significantly reduced plant height, number of branches per plant, pollen fertility, and yield; higher concentrations also caused variation in the plants at the seedling and mature stages. In addition, concentrations affected the pairing of homologous chromosomes and spindle formation. This resulted in laggards, bridges, fragments, multipolar orientation of chromosomes, and reduced chiasmata frequency. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that lower concentrations of metal did not significantly affect the cytomorphology of Trigonella, while higher concentrations of lead nitrate were found to be more mutagenic and cytotoxic.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of cadmium (Cd) on biochemical, physiological and cytological parameters of Trigonella treated with six different concentrations 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, or 125 ppm of metal. Germination%, root-shoot length, pigment, proline, and protein content showed a continuous decrease with increasing Cd concentrations and the maximal decline was observed at the higher concentration while the frequency of chromosomal aberrations rose with increasing metal concentration. Malondialdehyde content was found to be two-fold higher than control at 125 ppm Cd. On other hand the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GDP) rose more than two-fold and the peaked at 75 ppm of Cd. Thus, SOD and GDP were more sensitive to Cd than other involved in reactive oxygen species quenching mechanism. Additionally protein profiling by SDS-PAGE revealed that there was 89% polymorphism and considerable inter-specific variation in the analyzed accessions. Variation in the major bands was present in case of S1 and S5, whereas the accessions showed differences for the minor bands. Three new bands such as 30, 33, and 34 were present only in case of S5 which might be related to improvement of traits studied in Trigonella.

Trigonella corniculata L. (Kasuri methi), a medicinal plant from the Fabaceae family, with exceptional culinary value, nutritional importance, and therapeutic properties that offer valuable curative benefits. Mutation breeding is highly regarded by plant breeders as an effective method of enhancing crop productivity and achieving sustainable crop production. Genetic diversity serves as the foundation for plant breeding programs, compelling the introduction of mutations to enhance variability. This study employed caffeine treatment of five concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.0%) on T. corniculata (var. ‘Pusa kasuri’) seeds, resulting in significant effect (p<0.05) on the morpho-physiological and quantitative parameters. Various statistical methods, including Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) unveiled correlations between plant characteristics. A strong positive correlation (0.99) emerged between clusters per plant and seed yield. Principal component analysis revealed that the first two out of twelve principal components contributed to 90% of the variation, indicating genotypic diversity. The correlation between clusters per plant, pods per cluster, and seed yield, as indicated by PCA and Pearson's correlation heatmap analysis, affirms high-yield potential. Methanolic extracts of T. corniculata were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, revealing 17 major phytocompounds known for their pharmacological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, etc.). This study has the potential to pave the way for developing novel herbal remedies for various diseases using T. corniculata, potentially resulting in the formulation of new medications.