Please cite this article in press as: Aftab, T., et al., Simultaneous use of irradiated sodium alginate and nitrogen and phosphorus fer- tilizers enhance growth, biomass and artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua L. Computers and Chemical Engineering (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2016.05.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model CACE 55574 1–9 Computers and Chemical Engineering xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers and Chemical Engineering journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compchemeng Simultaneous use of irradiated sodium alginate and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers enhance growth, biomass and artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua L. Tariq Aftab a,∗ , Mohammad Naeem a , Mohammad Idrees b , Mohammad Masroor Akhtar Khan a , Moinuddin a , Lalit Varshney c a Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, India b Department of Mathematics and Sciences, College of Arts and Applied Sciences, Dhofar University, PO Box 2509, PC 211, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman c Radiation Technology Development Division, BARC, Mumbai 400 085, India a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 15 October 2015 Received in revised form 10 May 2016 Accepted 11 May 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Irradiated sodium alginate Photosynthesis Artemisinin Artemisia annua a b s t r a c t Marine polysaccharides (sodium alginate, carrageenan, chitosan, etc.) have proved as growth promoting substances in their depolymerized form for a number of medicinal and agricultural plants. Antimalarial drug, artemisinin, extracted from the leafy tissue of Artemisia annua L., is an effective and safe alternative remedy against malaria; it has proved effective against the highly adaptable malaria parasite. In order to increase plant growth and artemisinin content, field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years, using foliar application of an aqueous solution of gamma-ray irradiated sodium alginate along with split application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Crop performance was assessed at pre-flowering and flowering stage in terms of growth, physiological and biochemical parameters and production of artemisinin in A. annua. Foliar application of 80 mg L −1 of irradiated sodium alginate (ISA) along with split application of nitrogen (40 + 40 kg N ha −1 ) and phosphorus (20 + 20 kg P ha −1 ) (i.e. ISA 80 + N 40 + 40 + P 20 + 20 ) proved the best integrated treatment that gave maximal values for the attributes studied at flowering stage. As compared with the control, effect of this treatment (ISA 80 + N 40 + 40 + P 20 + 20 ) was positive on dry leaf yield, leaf artemisinin concentration and artemisinin yield. The combined treatment enhanced the content and yield of artemisinin by 43.3 and 87.9%, respectively. © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Malaria is a vector-borne disease usually caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Worldwide, the most severe form of malaria is respon- sible for the incidence of 300–500 million people succumbing to infection by the malaria parasite every year. As per estimations, malaria causes between 1.5 and 3 million deaths per year, mainly of African children (Rinaldi, 2004; Dalrymple, 2012). Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone, containing an endoperoxide bridge, has proved as an effective and safe alternative remedy against the highly adaptable malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum), which has already become resistant to many other drugs (WHO, 2012). Hence, a multidimensional approach is needed to control the ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: taftab.bo@amu.ac.in (T. Aftab), naeemgaur@gmail.com (M. Naeem), midrees@du.edu.om (M. Idrees), mmakhan.bt@amu.ac.in (M.M.A. Khan), moinuddin.bt@amu.ac.in ( Moinuddin), lalitv@barc.gov.in (L. Varshney). malaria, and one of them is increasing artemisinin production in the plant concerned. Various scientific strategies have been applied to enhance the production of artemisinin, which include agronomical practices, genetic engineering, selective breeding and biotransfor- mation approach (Shukla et al., 1992; Zhang et al., 2005; Ferreira, 2007; Pu et al., 2009; Mannan et al., 2010). Agronomical practices have always been a useful tool for the improved production of commercial crops, which also impact upon secondary metabolite production and sometimes the results are fruitful. Stimulation of increased artemisinin content and yield by growth regulators and macronutrients, like N, P, and K, have been reported by various researchers regarding A. annua (Shukla et al., 1992; Singh, 2000; Ferreira et al., 2005; Weathers et al., 2005; Aftab et al., 2010a,b, 2011b). Complete chemical (de novo) synthesis of artemisinin was achieved by several researchers (Xu et al., 1986; Ravindranathan et al., 1990; Avery et al., 1992). However, low yield and high cost of drug-synthesis indicate that the isolation of artemisinin from the plant is the most economically feasible method for its production at present. Since 2001, artemisinin-based combination therapies http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2016.05.001 2214-7861/© 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54