Seed priming with alpha-tocopherol alleviates microplastic stress in Brassica rapa through modulations in morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes

Microplastics (MPs) have been regarded as emerging pollutants globally, and understanding of the injurious impacts of MPs on food crops is still scarce. MPs toxicity can disrupt the growth and physic-chemical characteristics of turnip seedlings. Hence, sustainable remediation techniques by employing growth regulators can alleviate harmful impacts and confer MPs tolerance in vegetables. It was aimed to explore the impact of α-tocopherol for the alleviation of MPs toxicity in Brassica rapa seedlings. During present investigation, seed priming was executed with 25, 50 and 100 mg L^-1α-tocopherol and then concerned soaked seeds of B. rapa were grown in Perti dishes treated with MPs (50 mg/L). The current study showed that MPs toxicity significantly reduced seed germination, growth attributes, and photosynthetic activity while remarkably boosting the level of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Nevertheless, seed priming with α-tocopherol mitigated the MPs stress in Brassica rapa by augmenting growth attributes, photosynthetic machinery, phenol, flavonoid, proline and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD). Furthermore, α-tocopherol supply meaningfully lowered the malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents of B. rapa under MPs stressed conditions. Hence, seed priming with α-tocopherol can be a promising strategy for promoting turnip crop production in MPs-contaminated environments. These outcomes will offer new insights into the sustainable management of the harmful effects of MPs on food crops.