Nanoparticles assisted regulation of oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme system in plants under salt stress: A review

The global biomass production from agricultural farmlands is facing severe constraints from abiotic stresses like soil salinization. Salinity-mediated stress triggered the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that may result in oxidative burst in cell organelles and cause cell death in plants. ROS production is regulated by the redox homeostasis that helps in the readjustment of the cellular redox and energy state in plants. All these cellular redox related functions may play a decisive role in adaptation and acclimation to salinity stress in plants. The use of nanotechnology like nanoparticles (NPs) in plant physiology has become the new area of interest as they have potential to trigger the various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant capabilities of plants under varying salinity levels. Moreover, NPs application under salinity is also being favored due to their unique characteristics compared to traditional phytohormones, amino acids, nutrients, and organic osmolytes. Therefore, this article emphasized the core response of plants to acclimate the challenges of salt stress through auxiliary functions of ROS, antioxidant defense system and redox homeostasis. Furthermore, the role of different types of NPs mediated changes in biochemical, proteomic, and genetic expressions of plants under salt stress have been discussed. This article also discussed the potential limitations of NPs adoption in crop production especially under environmental stresses.