Comparison of various hormone combinations and the potential of chitosan nanoparticles for growth stimulation in Astragalus spp

Astragalus spp. has been used in herbal medicine to improve kidney endurance, as a heart tonic, a hepatoprotectant, a
diabetic treatment, and a remedy for viral infections. Our research seeks to investigate the possible growth-stimulating
properties of chitosan nanoparticles in comparison to iso-pentenyl adenosine (IPA), isopentenyladenine (2ip), 1-Naph
thalene-acetic acid (NAA), and in-dole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in Astragalus spp. Plant tissue culture is a technique for
reproducing whole plants, organs, tissues, or cells in the laboratory under controlled conditions. Phytohormones (natural
or synthetic growth regulators) at appropriate phases of development or maturity can then be used to impact plant develop
ment. Callus induction methods, as well as shoot and root micropropagation protocols, were established on Astragalus spp.
seeds. Ionic gelatination was used to create chitosan nanoparticles in this study. Molecular docking proved that chitosan
showed an energy binding of -7.86 kcal/ mol against ERF-1 target site. Chitosan formed seven hydrogen bonds with Glu5,
Gln282, Asn9, Lys16, Glu324 and Glu390. The bond lengths were 2.05, 1.95, 2.05, 2.02, 2.01, 1.90, and 1.84 Å. Among
the various ratios and mixes of four growth regulators, a mixture of iso-pentenyl adenosine (IPA) and isopentenyladenine
(2ip) with concentrations of 0.5 mg/L from each produced the highest Mean number of shoots (MNS) (17.5%) and Mean
shoots length (MSL) (12.5 cm) (1.28%). The best mixture was 0.5 IPA plus 0.5 mg/L 2ip, which was tested on five plant
samples; MNS achieved a maximum value of 22.5% in two subcultures, second and third, followed by 18.8% in the first
subculture, 15.8% in the fourth subculture, and 13.8% in the fifth subculture. Also, MLS improved in all five subcultures,
although the highest value was 15 cm with the second subculture and 13.8 cm with the fourth subculture. Auxins such
as 1-Naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA) and In-dole-3-butyric acid (IBA) were applied to plant samples, with the maximum
rooting reaching 100% and the root length improving to 14.4 cm in comparison to the control, where rooting and root
length were 74% and 12.6 cm, respectively. Chitosan nanoparticles had an average particle size of roughly 60 ± 10 nm and
a qua-si-spherical shape. Furthermore, the colloidal stability and surface characteristics of the as-prepared nanoparticles
were studied using FT-IR and dynamic light scattering techniques. Chitosan NPs were utilized in various concentrations
(0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mg/L), The best concentration was 0.5 mg/L stimulating rooting with 83.3%, 4.7 root/shoot num
ber, and root length 6.4 cm.