Exogenous abscisic acid fine-tunes heavy metal accumulation and plant’s antioxidant defence mechanism to optimize crop performance and secondary metabolite production in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. under nickel stress

Nickel (Ni) contamination of farming soil has become currently a recurring global menace to agriculture crop productivity. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the putative contributions of abscisic acid (ABA) to extemporize Ni tolerance in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek) plants. The outcomes of this study exposed that exogenous supplementation of ABA at 10, 20, 40 and 80 µM considerably enhanced the growth and physiological attributes of fenugreek under 80 mg Ni kg−1 soil, however, 40 µM of ABA exhibited the best results under normal and Ni-stressed conditions. ABA-mediated Ni tolerance was marked by reductions in Ni accumulation and consequent lowering of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radicals. Contrarily, NO (nitric oxide) level increased in response to ABA application under Ni stress conditions, accompanied by promoted antioxidant activities through improved levels of secondary metabolites, proline, and perked-up ROS-detoxification enzymes activities. Exogenous ABA at 40 µM concentration applied to Ni-exposed plants (80 mg Ni kg−1 soil) improved the total content of alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids and tannins by 14.3%, 10.2%, 15.4% and 7.0%, respectively, over Ni-stressed plants alone. Additionally, seed trigonelline content imparting several pharmacological actions to the fenugreek plant exhibited a remarkable escalation upto 3.6 and 2.6 mg g−1 DW under ‘40 µM ABA’ and ‘40 µM ABA + 80 mg Ni kg−1 soil’ treatments, respectively. The findings of the study suggest that ABA plays a key role in enhancing the overall performance of the fenugreek crop under excessive Ni stress. •Nickel (Ni) hampered crucial physiological mechanisms in fenugreek by impeding its overall growth traits.•Supplementation of Abscisic acid (ABA) through foliage ameliorates phytotoxic effects of Ni.•Exogenous ABA relieves Ni toxicity by hindering Ni accumulation in plant tissues.•ABA-mediated regulation of NO and H2O2 homeostasis modulates the activities of ROS-scavenging antioxidants.•Exogenous ABA boosts up trigonelline production in fenugreek.