Spectral Study of Some Metabolites Involved in the Adaptation Reaction of Bitter Cucumber (Momordica charantia) to Saline Stress

Abstract

Momordica charantia (bitter cucumber) is a tropical and subtropical plant with a long history of use in traditional medicine. Salinity is a major problem that limits plant growth and biomass production. The aim of this work was to determine the salinity tolerance of bitter cucumber, through the spectral analyses of some metabolites involved in their response to abiotic stress factors. To carry out the experiment, two varieties of bitter cucumber and three experimental lines were subjected to saline stress by applying treatments with saline solutions in different concentrations (control—0 mM NaCl; V1—100 mM NaCl; and V2—200 mM NaCl). After applying the treatments, analyses were carried out on the amount of free proline (Pro), ascorbic acid, and aromatic amino acids. For proline and ascorbic acid, the tendency was for their concentration to decrease in the variants treated with saline solutions" with "the tendency was for their absorbance to decrease in the variants treated with saline solutions. The differences between the controls and the treated variants, as well as between the studied genotypes, highlight their capacity for resistance and adaptation to saline stress.