Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research

Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research

Investigation of the Protective Effects of Sodium Hydrosulfide and Sodium Nitroprusside on the Toxicity of Silver Nanoparticles in Soybeans (Glycine max L.)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
S Moayeri
M Baradaran Firouzabadi
M Parsaeian
A Gholami
H Makarian
Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
10.22067/jcesc.2025.94122.1409
Abstract
Introduction
Nanotechnology is actually one of the new technologies that has recently entered the agricultural field. Nanoparticles are atomic or molecular assemblies with minimum dimensions between 1-100 nanometers. One of the first effects of reducing the size of particles to below 100 nanometers and converting them into nanoparticles is an increase in surface area to volume, which causes more atoms to be placed on the surface compared to the volume, and subsequently changes the physical and chemical properties of the particles. In the meantime Nanosilver is known as a stress factor in plants due to its unique properties such as small size and high specific surface area, which can cause plant damage by inducing oxidative stress. Increasing of resistance to abiotic stresses in some plants is done through external application of various organic compounds. In this study, the role of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in reducing the negative effects of nanosilver on the physiology, growth and yield of soybean cultivar Williams was investigated.
Materials and Methods
The experiment was conducted at the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrood University of Technology. The evaluated traits included shoot dry matter, forage yield, chlorophyll a and b contents, relative water content, plasma membrane stability, flavonoid content, anthocyanin content, and leaf soluble sugar concentration. The experiment was carried out as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications with three levels of nanosilver (0, 1.5 and 3 g L-1), three levels of NaHS (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) and two levels of SNP (0 and 120 μM) in 1402. After testing, the obtained data was analyzed by SAS statistical software (version 9.1). The comparison of means was done based on minimum mean difference test (LSD) at 5 % probability level. The shape of the mold was studied using excel software.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that nanosilver reduced yield, relative leaf water content, and pigment concentration, while the combined use of NaHS and SNP reduced stress-induced damage by increasing the levels of protectants such as flavonoid, anthocyanin, and soluble sugars. In the treatment containing 3 g L-1 of silver nanoparticles, 0.5 mM sodium hydrosulfide, and no sodium nitroprusside, the chlorophyll a content of 0.78 mg g-1 fresh leaf weight showed the lowest value among all treatments. The highest soluble sugar content was recorded in plants treated with 1.5 g L-1 silver nanoparticles. The amount of flavonoid in plants sprayed with 1.5 g L-1 nanosilver was significantly increased as the amount of this trait in the application of 0.5 mM and non - consuming sodium hydrosulfide increased 0.0771 and 0.0769 g.g-1 fresh weight of leaves and increased 48 percent. he highest anthocyanin content was observed in the control treatment (0 g L⁻¹ nanosilver) and in the 1.5 g L⁻¹ nanosilver treatment in the absence of sodium hydrosulfide. All other treatment combinations significantly reduced anthocyanin content compared with the control. Nanosilver application reduced plasma membrane stability. The plasma membrane stability of the control plants was 71.55%, which decreased to 68.9% following application of 1.5 g L⁻¹ nanosilver; however, this reduction was not statistically significant. Increasing the nanosilver concentration to 3 g L⁻¹ resulted in a significant decline in plasma membrane stability, with a mean value of 61.6%. The shoot dry matter content in the control plants was 109.6 g m-2. in the effect of spraying of plants with 1.5 g L-1 nanosilver and non - consumption of sodium nitroprusside and sodium hydrosulfide to 99.5 g.m-2 and by infecting plants with 3 g L-1 nanosilver with a significant drop of 51.7 g m-2. The highest grain yield (420.3 g m-2) was obtained in the treatment without nanosilver and with the use of 1 mM NaHS, which showed a 36% increase compared to the control (270 g m-2).
Conclusion
Overall, the application of NaHS and SNP under nanosilver stress conditions left effective protective effects and can be suggested as an efficient approach for managing stresses caused by heavy metals in plants.
Keywords
Antioxidant
Heavy metals
Oxidative stress
Pigments
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 22 June 2025
  • Revise Date 26 October 2025
  • Accept Date 12 November 2025
  • First Publish Date 02 December 2025