Fig 1.
This flowchart illustrates how soybean seeds were treated with pesticides and melatonin, as well as how they were grouped. For details, please see the text. CHT, chlorothalonil; MLT, malathion; MT, melatonin.
Fig 2.
Melatonin affects seed germination and sprout length.
(A) Melatonin’s effects on the germination rate and (B) sprout length were monitored in soybean seeds after imbibition for 7 d. The standard deviation of the mean is indicated by a bar (n = 3), and there was no significant difference between means followed by the same letter (p < 0.05) within the same time-point. Each group represents 100 soybean seeds or germinated sprouts. CHT, chlorothalonil; MLT, malathion; MT, melatonin.
Table 1.
Effects of germination on pesticide residues.
Fig 3.
Melatonin affects the glutathione content and related enzyme activities.
The effects of melatonin on the GSH content (A), and the activities of GR (B), and GST (C) in germinated seeds and sprouts after imbibition for 24 h. The standard deviation of the mean is indicated by a bar (n = 3), and there was no significant difference between means followed by the same letter (p < 0.05) among the treatments. GR, glutathione reductase; GST, glutathione-S-transferase; GSH, reduced glutathione.
Fig 4.
Melatonin affects antioxidant nutrients.
The effects of melatonin on the accumulation of ascorbic acid (A), the content of total phenolics (B) and total isoflavones (C), and the total antioxidant capacity (D) in soybean sprouts after imbibition for 7 d. The standard deviation of the mean is indicated by a bar (n = 3), and there was no significant difference between means followed by the same letter (p < 0.05) among the treatments.
Table 2.
Melatonin affects the content of phenolics and isoflavones and their composition in soybean sprouts.
Table 3.
Unsaturated fatty acid accumulation in soybean sprouts.