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Abstract
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Background Heavy metals (HMs) phytoremediation is a well-recognized protocol to remove toxic elements from
the soil. As known, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhance the plants’ growth responses. The idea of the present
study was to assay the response of lavender plants to HMs stress under AMF inoculation. We hypothesized that mycorrhiza
will enhance the phytoremediation and simultaneously reduce the harmful effects of heavy HMs. So, lavender
(Lavandula angustifolia L.) plants were inoculated with AMF (0 and 5 g Kg−
1 soil) under Pb [150 and 225 mg kg−
1 soil
from Pb (
NO3)2] and Ni [220 and 330 mg kg−
1 soil from Ni (
NO3)2] pollution, in the greenhouse conditions. The control
treatment was plants not treated with AMF and HMs. Doing this, the root colonization, HMs uptake, enzymatic and
non-enzymatic antioxidants pool, MDA, proline, total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), anthocyanins, and essential oil
(EO) components were evaluated.
Results According to the findings, the AMF inoculation enhanced shoot and root Pb and Ni content, antioxidant
enzymes activity, the total antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP methods, TPC, TFC, anthocyanins, and H2O2
content
in the lavender plants subjected to Pb and Ni stress. Moreover, the highest (28.91%) and the least (15.81%) percentages
of borneol were identified in the lavender plants subjected to AMF under 150 mg kg−
1 of Pb and the control
plants without AMF application, respectively. Furthermore, the top 1,8-cineole (12.75%) content was recorded in AMFinoculated
plants.
Conclusions The overall results verify that AMF inoculation can be a reliable methodology to enhance the phytoremediation
of Pb and Ni by lavender plants while maintaining reliable growth potential. The treatments improved
the main EO constituents content, especially under moderate HMs stress conditions. With more detailed studies, the
results will be advisable for the extension section for the phytoremediation of polluted soils.
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