Open Access

REVIEW

Crop Improvement and Abiotic Stress Tolerance Promoted by Moringa Leaf Extract

Md. Abir Ul Islam¹, Juthy Abedin Nupur², Charles T. Hunter³, Abdullah Al Mamun Sohag⁴, Ashaduzzaman Sagar⁵, Md. Sazzad Hossain⁶, Mona F. A. Dawood^7,*, Arafat Abdel Hamed Abdel Latef⁸, Marián Brestič^9,10, Md. Tahjib-UI-Arif^4,*

1 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
2 Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
3 Chemistry Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Gainesville, 32608, USA
4 Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
5 Department of Crop Botany, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
6 Department of Agronomy and Haor Agriculture, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 3100, Bangladesh
7 Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71516, Egypt
8 Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt
9 Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 165 00, Czech Republic
10 Institute of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, 94976, Slovakia

* Corresponding Authors: Mona F. A. Dawood. Email: ; Md. Tahjib-UI-Arif. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2022, 91(8), 1557-1583. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2022.021556

Received 20 January 2022; Accepted 04 March 2022; Issue published 14 April 2022

Abstract

Moringa leaf extract (MLE) has been shown to promote beneficial outcomes in animals and plants. It is rich in amino acids, antioxidants, phytohormones, minerals, and many other bioactive compounds with nutritional and growth-promoting potential. Recent reports indicated that MLE improved abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying MLE-mediated abiotic stress tolerance remains limited. This review summarizes the existing literature on the role of MLE in promoting plant abiotic stress acclimation processes. MLE is applied to plants in a variety of ways, including foliar spray, rooting media, and seed priming. Exogenous application of MLE promoted crop plant growth, photosynthesis, and yield under both nonstress and abiotic stress conditions. MLE treatment reduced the severity of osmotic and oxidative stress in plants by regulating osmolyte accumulation, antioxidant synthesis, and secondary metabolites. MLE also improves mineral homeostasis in the presence of abiotic stress. Overall, this review describes the potential mechanisms underpinning MLE-mediated stress tolerance.

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Keywords

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