Effect of Different Dosages of Silicon Applications on the Phytochemical Content of Violet (Viola wittrockiana) Flowers

Abstract

This study examined how different silicon doses (50, 100, and 200 ppm) affect the bioactive compound content (total phenolic matter, total flavonoids, total monomeric anthocyanins, and antioxidant capacity) in the edible purple pansy (Viola wittrockiana). The research was based on studies showing that silicon applications promote the synthesis of phenolic compounds, support antioxidant defense mechanisms, and enhance the biochemical response capacity of plants, thereby improving traits such as visual quality, flowering time, disease resistance, and phytochemical content. Plants were grown in pots filled with a peat/soil mixture (equal parts). The experiment used a randomized block design with three repetitions and one pot per replication. The bioactive content of the flowers, collected uniformly during the flowering period, was analyzed as part of the study. Although some variation in total phenolic content among the silicon treatments was observed, these differences were not statistically significant compared with the control. The total phenolic content ranged from 3310.6 µg GAE g⁻¹ to 2918.9 µg GAE g⁻¹, with the highest phenolic content found in the 100 ppm silicon treatment. While there were no significant differences in total flavonoids among treatments, the highest value was observed in the 100 ppm silicon group. The impact of silicon treatments on anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity varied with application dose, with the highest levels observed in the control group.