Investigation the Effects of Different Levels of Salinity and Salicylic acid on Growth and Some Phytochemical Characteristics of Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.)

Salinity stress plays an important role in achieving maximum yield and quality of medicinal plants that damage vegetative growth, yield and plant physiology. Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.) is a valuable medicinal plant from Asteraceae family with various medicinal and remedial properties. This research aims to investigate changes in antioxidant activity of feverfew and phenolic compounds including phenol, felavonoid and felavonon. This plant was cultivated by the use hydroponic method. Salinity was induced by NaCl and CaCl2 (2:1) at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 mM levels. Salicylic acid (SA) was applied as foliar application at 0, 200 and 300 ppm concentrations. In the vegetative stage, the plants were compared with the control plant. The results indicated that salinity stress causes a decrease in total chlorophyll, fresh and dry weight, but it increased the amount of phenolic compounds (phenol, felavonoid and felavonon), antioxidant activity, and the percentage of the essential oil (EO). Moreover, foliar application with SA significantly had positive effects on these traits. Overall, SA hormone, as an effective regularize in the condition of stress, can increase resistance and the rate of the plant’s endurance under the condition of salinity stress.