Hydroethanolic extracts of four Lamiaceae species boost seed germination and growth of pepper and tomato: an LC-MS metabolomic study.
5 affiliations
- 1Crop and Horticultural Science Research Department, South Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Jiroft, Iran. [email protected].
- 2Department of Agriculture, Minab Higher Education Complex, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, 7916193145, Iran.
- 3Department of Soil and Water, Faculty of Water Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, 4913815739, Iran.
- 4Department of Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, 1983963113, Iran.
- 5Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran. [email protected].
Abstract
Germination represents a pivotal phase in crop development, often constrained by biological and environmental stressors that hinder successful plant stand formation. Both California Wonder pepper (Capsicum annuum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) often exhibit slow, asynchronous germination and reduced seedling establishment under non-stressful conditions, which limits early crop uniformity. Seed priming is a pre-planting technique that enhances seed physiology, leading to accelerated and synchronized germination, improved seedling vigor, and enhanced stress tolerance. This research evaluated the efficacy of leaf extracts from peppermint, thyme, rosemary, and savory applied individually as seed priming treatments for pepper and tomato under controlled greenhouse pot conditions. Solanum lycopersicum cv. SV3725 was selected because it is a widely grown commercial variety in the study region (southern Iran), known for its moderate tolerance to fungal pathogens and responsiveness to biostimulant treatments based on preliminary trials (data not shown). Seeds were soaked in 10% or 20% hydroethanolic extracts of the four herbs, or in 2% solutions of the fungicides Tebuconazole, Rovral-TS, or Captan. A completely randomized design with four replicates and 20 seeds per pot was employed. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis revealed that the dominant bioactive constituents across the four herbal extracts were rosmarinic acid, caryophyllene oxide, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, limonene, and β-caryophyllene. The results indicated that seed priming with 10% savory leaf extract significantly improved germination percentage, seedling establishment, and seed vigor index in both pepper and tomato compared to the control (p ≤ 0.05). In pepper, 10% savory extract increased germination to 76.7%, seedling establishment to 58.3%, and seed vigor index to 1233. In tomato, the same treatment enhanced germination to 86.7%, seedling establishment to 100%, and seed vigor index to 2193, performing comparably to the synthetic fungicide Tebuconazole (93.3% germination).
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BibTeX
@article{sardoei2026hydroethanolic,
title = {{Hydroethanolic extracts of four Lamiaceae species boost seed germination and growth of pepper and tomato: an LC-MS metabolomic study.}},
author = {Ali Salehi Sardoei and Mehrdad Babarabie and Parvin Zolfaghary and Zahra Hasanpour and Mohammad Reza Asgharipour},
journal = {BMC plant biology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12870-026-09570-y},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42967987},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hydroethanolic extracts of four Lamiaceae species boost seed germination and growth of pepper and tomato: an LC-MS metabolomic study.
AU - Ali Salehi Sardoei
AU - Mehrdad Babarabie
AU - Parvin Zolfaghary
AU - Zahra Hasanpour
AU - Mohammad Reza Asgharipour
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - BMC plant biology
DO - 10.1186/s12870-026-09570-y
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42967987
AB - Germination represents a pivotal phase in crop development, often constrained by biological and environmental stressors that hinder successful plant stand formation. Both California Wonder pepper (Capsicum annuum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) often exhibit slow, asynchronous germination and reduced seedling establishment under non-stressful conditions, which limits early crop uniformity. Seed priming is a pre-planting technique that enhances seed physiology, leading to accelerated and synchronized germination, improved seedling vigor, and enhanced stress tolerance. This research evaluated the efficacy of leaf extracts from peppermint, thyme, rosemary, and savory applied individually as seed priming treatments for pepper and tomato under controlled greenhouse pot conditions. Solanum lycopersicum cv. SV3725 was selected because it is a widely grown commercial variety in the study region (southern Iran), known for its moderate tolerance to fungal pathogens and responsiveness to biostimulant treatments based on preliminary trials (data not shown). Seeds were soaked in 10% or 20% hydroethanolic extracts of the four herbs, or in 2% solutions of the fungicides Tebuconazole, Rovral-TS, or Captan. A completely randomized design with four replicates and 20 seeds per pot was employed. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis revealed that the dominant bioactive constituents across the four herbal extracts were rosmarinic acid, caryophyllene oxide, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, limonene, and β-caryophyllene. The results indicated that seed priming with 10% savory leaf extract significantly improved germination percentage, seedling establishment, and seed vigor index in both pepper and tomato compared to the control (p ≤ 0.05). In pepper, 10% savory extract increased germination to 76.7%, seedling establishment to 58.3%, and seed vigor index to 1233. In tomato, the same treatment enhanced germination to 86.7%, seedling establishment to 100%, and seed vigor index to 2193, performing comparably to the synthetic fungicide Tebuconazole (93.3% germination).
SN - 1471-2229
ER -