Blue light dosage affects carotenoids and tocopherols in microgreens

• Published in: Food chemistry 2017-08, Vol.228, p.50-56
• Main Authors: Samuolienė, Giedrė, Viršilė, Akvilė, Brazaitytė, Aušra, Jankauskienė, Julė, Sakalauskienė, Sandra, Vaštakaitė, Viktorija, Novičkovas, Algirdas, Viškelienė, Alina, Sasnauskas, Audrius, Duchovskis, Pavelas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beet; Beta vulgaris - chemistry; Carotenoids - chemistry; Light; Light-emitting diodes; Mustard; Mustard Plant - chemistry; Parsley; Petroselinum - chemistry; Tocopherols; Tocopherols - chemistry; Xanthophylls
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.01.144

•16–33% of blue light had positive effect on photosynthetic and carotenoid pigments.•Tocopherols were more influenced by lower blue light dosage.•r showed that metabolite amounts were influenced by light and depended on species. Mustard, beet and parsley were grown to harvest time under selected LEDs: 638+660+731+0% 445nm; 638+660+731+8% 445nm; 638+660+731+16% 445nm; 638+660+731+25% 445nm; 638+660+731+33% 445nm. From 1.2 to 4.3 times higher concentrations of chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids, α- and β-carotenes, lutein, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin was found under blue 33% treatment in comparison to lower blue light dosages. Meanwhile, the accumulation of metabolites, which were not directly connected with light reactions, such as tocopherols, was more influenced by lower (16%) blue light dosage, increasing about 1.3 times. Thus, microgreen enrichment of carotenoid and xanthophyll pigments may be achieved using higher (16–33%) blue light intensities. Changes in metabolite quantities were not the result of changes of other carotenoid concentration, but were more influenced by light treatment and depended on the species. Significant quantitative changes in response to blue light percentage were obtained for both directly and not directly light-dependent metabolite groups.