Effects of Different Flavonoids on the Growth of Faba Bean Rhizobia

An incubation experiment was conducted to explored that the effects of different flavonoids (naringenin, hesperetin, quercetin and genistein) on the growth of faba bean rhizobia at different concentrations (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 μg/mL). The results showed that the naringenin, hesperetin, quercetin and genistein all significantly affected the quantity, absorbance and colony diameter of faba bean rhizobia. The quantity, absorbance and colony diameter of faba bean rhizobia were first increased and then decreased with the increasing concentrations of naringenin, quercetin and they present the highest value at the concentration of 1.2 μg/mL, while the growth trends of hesperetin and genistein were still increasing with exception of the trend of hesperetin on the rhizobia colony diameter. These findings suggest that a reasonable concentration of flavonoids play an important influence in the growth of faba bean rhizobia.