Physiological Responses of Ocimum basilicum, Salvia officinalis, and Mentha piperita to Leaf Wounding

Abstract

The investigation about the leaf wounding effect on plant physiological procedures and on leaf pigments content will contribute to the understanding of the plants’ responses against this abiotic stress. During the experiment, some physiological parameters such as photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance as well as the chlorophyll and anthocyanin leaf contents of Ocimum basilicum, Salvia officinalis, and Mentha piperita plants were measured for about 20–40 days. All the measurements were conducted on control and wounded plants while in the latter, they were conducted on both wounded and intact leaves. A wide range of responses was observed in the wounded leaves, that is: (a) immediate decrease of the gas exchange parameters and long-term decrease of almost all the measured variables from O. basilicum, (b) immediate but only short-term decrease of the gas exchange parameters and no effect on pigments from M. piperita, and (c) no effect on the gas exchange parameters and decrease of the pigments content from S. officinalis. Regarding the intact leaves, in general, they exhibited a similar profile with the control ones for all plants. These results imply that the plant response to wounding is a complex phenomenon depending on plant species and the severity of the injury.