Investigation of effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) on photosynthetic pigments and some biochemical and antioxidant properties of the Rosmarinus officinalis L.

The use of nanotechnology can create new important applications in various fields of agricultural resulting in improvement of plant yield, and increase of growth and photosynthesis. Using this technology, the techniques in product management can be improved. The absorption rate of nanoparticles varies in plants, depending on type of plant, chemical composition and size of particles. Nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are widely used in agricultural industries to enhance plant growth properties. In this case, the aim of this study was to study the effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on photosynthetic pigments and some biochemical properties and antioxidant enzymes of Rosmarinus officinalis L. This research was carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications in the greenhouse of Sana Institute of Higher Education of Sari in 2017-2018. Different concentrations of titanium nanoparticles in seven levels (0, 20, 40, 80, 100, 200 and 400 ppm) were sprayed onto rosemary plants in three stages with a one-hour interval. The results showed that the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids were increased by increasing the concentration of titanium nanoparticles, since the highest total chlorophyll content and carotenoids were related to 200 ppm nanoparticle titanium concentration. Also, the effect of titanium nanoparticle on the amount of soluble sugar indicated that by increasing the concentration of titanium nanoparticles as 100, 200 and 400 ppm nanoparticles, there was an increasing trend in this trait. In addition, there was a significant increase in the amount of antioxidant enzymes studied in high concentration of titanium nanoparticles (80, 100, 200 and 400 ppm).