The Effects of Salt Stress on Certain Physiological Parameters in Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) Plants

Abstract

Savory plants were treated with different concentrations of NaCl. Plants were grown under controlled environment and harvested after 42 days for measurements of biochemical and physiological parameters. The essential oil of dryed aerial parts of treated plants were isolated and analyzed with GC/MS. The main essential oil compounds were determined as carvacrol (55.37%) and g-terpinene (32.92%) in control plants. In NaCl treated plants, with increasing NaCl, carvacrol content increased and g-terpinene decreased. In all the plants treated with NaCl, growth parameters, pigments contents and photosynthetic rate were decreased, while, proline and soluble sugars contents increased.Our results indicated that with increasing salinity, carvacrol amount increased which can be considered for medical usages.

Keywords

• Carvacrol
• Essential oil
• Growth parameters
• Satureja hortensis
• Salt stress