Abstract
The present study examined the effect of jasmonic acid (JA) on physio-biochemical attributes, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, total phenolics, flavonoids, quantitative and qualitative assay of phenolic compounds in 7-day-old Vigna radiata sprouts exposed to salt stress (130 mM NaCl). NaCl stress decreases root and shoot length and chlorophyll content as compared to control. However exogenous application of JA was found to ameliorate both root and shoot length and increase chlorophyll content of NaCl fed sprouts. JA enhances the activity of PAL, thus, raising the total levels of phenols and flavonoids. Our study demonstrates that exogenous JA can induce the production of phenolic acids (gallic acid and chlorogenic acid), simple phenols (catechol) and flavonoids (quercetin and flavones). These results support the hypothesis that JA alleviates salt stress by increasing the antioxidant potential of salt-exposed mung bean sprouts, thus, enhancing the health-boosting compounds in food plants.