Research Article Exogenous Application of Ascorbic Acid Enhances the Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Potential of Ocimum sanctum L. Grown under Salt Stress Neelma Munir, 1 Sheza A. Khilji, 2 Maryam Shabir, 1 and Zahoor A. Sajid 3 1 Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan 2 Department of Botany, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan 3 Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Correspondence should be addressed to Zahoor A. Sajid; zahoor.botany@pu.edu.pk Received 30 April 2021; Revised 6 June 2021; Accepted 21 August 2021; Published 2 September 2021 Academic Editor: Shakeel Ahmed Copyright©2021NeelmaMuniretal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Ocimum sanctum L. (Tulsi) is the most important medicinal plant that has antimicrobial, antioxidants, and anticarcinogenic effects on human health. Plants, when under stress, gather several antioxidants and osmoprotectants. e present work focuses on the abiotic stress response of Tulsi and its mitigation by the application of ascorbic acid. In addition to this, an enhancement of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity was also analyzed using ascorbic acid. During the present work, when plants were grown under NaCl stress and ascorbic acid (AA) was provided with foliar applications, it ascertained encouraging effects on growth; likewise, its effect remains stable under salinity stress. e enzymatic antioxidants activity showed a significant change in response to AA alone or in combination. e highest catalase activity was recorded in plants subjected to 0.5 mM AA in combination with 100mM NaCl (0.65 units/mL of enzyme). Likewise, a similar trend was recorded for the superoxide dismutase activity of Tulsi plants. e highest activity of SOD was recorded in plants subjected to 0.5 mM AA in combination with 100 mM NaCl (66.1 units/mg of protein). Flavonoid content showed its highest amount (27.41 mg/g) when plants were treated with 0.5mM AA + 100 mM NaCl while the highest phenolic content (1.88 mg/g) was analyzed in salt treated plants sprayed with 0.5 mM AA. In the case of antimicrobial activity, 0.5 mM AA treated plants gave the highest value for the Staphylococcus aureus as2.15cmandin Clostridium species was 2.1 cm in the plants treated with 1 mM AA alone. Hence, the findings of the present study may lead to the conclusion that AA has a significant role in defense mechanisms of plants in response to salt stress. Further, it enhances the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of Tulsi plants grown under salt stress. 1. Introduction In the last few years, pharmacological industries became active in producing new antibiotics as microorganisms are becoming more and more resistant to the older drugs [1]. Folk medicines that include natural and herbal products have been utilized for centuries throughout the world. Along with a low adverse reaction rate, their cost is highly reduced [2]. Different parts of the plants are used for the extraction of different compounds that are efficient in curing cough, fever, bronchitis, cold, diarrhea, cholera, and dysentery, etc. [3]. Around the globe, one of the greatest economic value sources is a medicinal plant. Pakistan is one of the countries that are blessed with rich sources of botanical wealth [4]. Ocimum sanctum is one of the most important plants of genus Ocimum and is commonly known as “Tulsi” in Pakistan [5]. Generally, it possesses antifertility, anticancer compounds, antidiabetic, antifungal/antimicrobial, car- dioprotective related compounds, analgesic, antispasmodic, and adaptogenic actions [6]. Eugenol (1-hydroxy-2- methoxy-4-allylbenzene), the active constituents present in O. sanctum L. have been found to be largely responsible for the therapeutic potentials [7]. e growth and productivity of medicinal plants are majorly hindered by abiotic and biotic stresses. eir medicinal properties are also severely affected by these environmental stresses. Whenever the Hindawi Journal of Food Quality Volume 2021, Article ID 4977410, 8 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4977410