Eco-friendly synthesis of a ZnO/CuO nano-composite mitigates water stress in Pisum sativum by promoting antioxidative defense systems

Ghaleb, Mohamed; Saqr, Mahmoud; Youssef, Ahmed; Mohamed, Mousa; Sofy, Mahmoud R

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.375684.11600

Eco-friendly synthesis of a ZnO/CuO nano-composite mitigates water stress in Pisum sativum by promoting antioxidative defense systems

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt

² Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, 11884 Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt

³ Packaging Materials, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

⁴ Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University

10.21608/ejchem.2025.375684.11600

Abstract

Water scarcity is a significant environmental stressor that adversely affects plant development. This research examines the beneficial role of ZnO/CuO nano-composites in alleviating the adverse impacts of water scarcity on improving pea plants. The foliar spraying of ZnO/CuO nano-composite solutions (25 and 50 ppm) enhanced the growth parameters of pea plants cultivated under both optimal circumstances (100% available water) and water stress circumstances (80 and 60% water available). Plants subjected to ZnO/CuO nano-composites (50 ppm) exhibited elevated concentrations of significant osmolytes, including proline, phenol, flavonoid, and tocopherol. They preserved their photosynthetic pigments more effectively than others applied under both stress and non-stress circumstances. Moreover, the external foliar spray of ZnO/CuO nano-composites decreased the levels of OH, H2O2, O2, and lipid peroxidation in pea plants exposed to water deficiency. The treatments enhanced the results, illustrating the advantageous effects of ZnO/CuO nano-composites, at a concentration of 50 ppm in mitigating the detrimental effects of soil water deficiency stress in pea plants.

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