Abstract
Indoor farming systems enable plant production in precisely controlled environments. However, implementing stable growth conditions and the absence of stress stimulants can weaken plants' defense responses and limit the accumulation of bioactive, health-beneficial phytochemicals. A potential solution is the controlled application of stressors, such as supplemental ultraviolet (UV) light. To this end, we analyzed the efficiency of short-term pre-harvest supplementation of the red-green-blue (RGB, LED) spectrum with ultraviolet B (UV-B) or C (UV-C) light to boost phytochemical synthesis. Additionally, given the biological harm of UV radiation due to high-energy photons, we monitored plants' photosynthetic activity during treatment and their morphology as well as sensory attributes after the treatment. Our analyses showed that UV-B radiation did not negatively impact photosynthetic activity while significantly increasing the overall antioxidant potential of lettuce through enhanced levels of secondary metabolites (total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins), carotenoids, and ascorbic acid. On the contrary, UV-C radiation-induced anthocyanin accumulation in the green leaf cultivar significantly harmed the photosynthetic apparatus and limited plant growth. Taken together, we showed that short-term UV-B light supplementation is an efficient method for lettuce biofortification with healthy phytochemicals, while UV-C treatment is not recommended due to the negative impact on the quality (morphology, sensory properties) of the obtained leafy products. These results are crucial for understanding the potential of UV light supplementation for producing functional plants.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
UV-B did not negatively affect lettuce photosynthetic activity.
- Taxon
- Lettuce
Lactuca sativat0 - Treatment
- UV-B radiatione0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic activitye0
- Direction
- did not negatively impacte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-B radiation did not negatively impact photosynthetic activity”
t0“Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-B significantly increased overall antioxidant potential in lettuce.
- Taxon
- lettuceLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UV-Bt0
- Outcome
- overall antioxidant potentiale0
- Direction
- increasinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“significantly increasing the overall antioxidant potential of lettuce”
t0“UV-B and UV-C Spectrum Supplementation on the Antioxidant Properties and Photosynthetic Activity of Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-B enhanced phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UV-Bt0
- Outcome
- total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyaninse0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“enhanced levels of secondary metabolites (total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins)”
t0“UV-B and UV-C Spectrum Supplementation on the Antioxidant Properties and Photosynthetic Activity of Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-B enhanced carotenoids and ascorbic acid.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UV-Bt0
- Outcome
- carotenoids, and ascorbic acide0
- Direction
- increaseinferrede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“carotenoids, and ascorbic acid”
t0“UV-B and UV-C Spectrum Supplementation on the Antioxidant Properties and Photosynthetic Activity of Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-C induced anthocyanin accumulation in the green leaf cultivar.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Material
- green leaf cultivare0
- Treatment
- UV-Ce0
- Outcome
- anthocyanin accumulatione0
- Direction
- accumulatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C radiation-induced anthocyanin accumulation in the green leaf cultivar”
t0“Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-C significantly harmed the photosynthetic apparatus in the green leaf cultivar.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Material
- green leaf cultivare0
- Treatment
- UV-Ce0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic apparatuse0
- Direction
- harmede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C radiation-induced anthocyanin accumulation in the green leaf cultivar significantly harmed the photosynthetic apparatus”
t0“Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-C limited growth of the green leaf cultivar.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Material
- green leaf cultivare0
- Treatment
- UV-Ce0
- Outcome
- plant growthe0
- Direction
- limitede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C radiation-induced anthocyanin accumulation in the green leaf cultivar significantly harmed the photosynthetic apparatus and limited plant growth”
t0“Lettuce Cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend short-term UV-B supplementation for lettuce biofortification.
- Taxon
- lettuceLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- short-term UV-B light supplementatione0
- Outcome
- lettuce biofortification with healthy phytochemicalse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“short-term UV-B light supplementation is an efficient method for lettuce biofortification with healthy phytochemicals”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors do not recommend UV-C because it reduces leafy product quality.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UV-C treatmente0
- Outcome
- UV-C treatment is not recommendede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C treatment is not recommended due to the negative impact on the quality (morphology, sensory properties) of the obtained leafy products”
t0“Lettuce Cultivars”
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