Nanopriming with magnesium oxide nanoparticles enhanced antioxidant potential and nutritional richness of radish leaves grown in field

The 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals targets the development of strategies to enhance crop productivity aiming for agricultural sustainability. Nanotechnology-based strategies have the potential to support agricultural development. In this context, the present article documents a field study investigating the impact of 10–150 µg/ml MgO-NPs nanopriming on radish leaves and roots. Nanopriming significantly enhanced the shoot and root length by 59 and 15%. MgO-NPs considerably increased the carbohydrates and protein content in leaves by 48 and 20%. The polyphenols in radish leaves were enhanced by more than 50% on nanopriming. Surprisingly, HPLC results showed 122, 189, and 75% enhanced accumulation of kaempferol 3-glycoside, quercetin, and rutin in nanoprimed radish leaves. On the contrary, radish roots showed increased oxidative stress of more than 50% in comparison to control on nanopriming. The accumulation of kaempferol 3-glycoside, quercetin, and rutin showed considerably more accumulation on exposure to 10 µg/ml than 150 µg/ml in roots. Further, carbohydrates and protein content were enhanced in radish roots for osmoregulation. Hence, nanopriming with MgO-NPs could be a novel strategy to enhance the biochemical parameters of radish leaves, thus enhancing their nutritional richness. It further suggests the use of MgO-NPs as a novel strategy to promote the vegetative growth of plants, where roots are not commercially important. Graphical Abstract