Iodine Enhances the Nutritional Value but Not the Tolerance of Lettuce to NaCl

Positive stress or essential and nonessential elements can improve nutritive values (bio-fortification) of edible plants. In the present study, we evaluate (i) the effect of moderate salinity on lettuce biofortification, evaluated as nutritional bioactive compound accumulation, and (ii) the role of iodine in enhancing salt tolerance by increasing photorespiration and the content of antioxidants in lettuce. Physiological (gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence emission) and biochemical (photosynthetic pigment and bioactive compound) analyses were performed on lettuce plants grown under moderate salinity (50 mM NaCl alone or 50 mM NaCl in combination with iodine, KIO3). Our results show that NaCl + iodine treatment improves the nutritional value of lettuce in terms of bioactive compounds acting as antioxidants. More specifically, iodine enhances the accumulation of photosynthetic pigments and polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, under salt but does not improve the salt tolerance. Our findings indicate that iodine application under moderate salinity could be a valid strategy in plant biofortification by improving nutritional bioactive compound accumulation, thus exercising functional effects on human health.