EFFECT OF NaCl SALINITY ON BIOACTIVE COMPOUND ACCUMULATION AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL IN BASIL (OCIMUM BASILICUM L.): IMPLICATIONS FOR NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Salt stress is one of the most prevalent abiotic stresses limiting plant productivity worldwide, yet moderate salinity can act as an elicitor of secondary metabolism. This study investigated the effect of NaCl concentrations on germination, vegetative growth, photosynthetic pigment content, total polyphenol content (TPC), and ABTS (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical-scavenging capacity in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Following assessment of data normality and homogeneity of variance, the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to leaf number, while one-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post hoc testing was applied to TPC and ABTS data. Low salinity (V1, 17.1mM NaCl) stimulated fresh biomass. Leaf number was significantly reduced in V2 and V3 relative to the control. Chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll were highest in V3. TPC decreased progressively with salinity, with V0 and V1 significantly higher than V3. ABTS antioxidant capacity showed a contrasting non-linear pattern, being significantly higher in V3 than in V0, V1, and V2. Pearson correlation across all triplicates (n = 12) between TPC and ABTS was significantly negative, indicating that non-phenolic compounds likely sustain antioxidant capacity in salt-stressed basil. The results provide a basis for optimizing controlled cultivation of basil to enhance its bioactive profile for functional food applications.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62838/abmj-2026-0006