RESUMEN
Microgreens are an excellent source of health-maintaining compounds, and the accumulation of these compounds in plant tissues may be stimulated by exogenous stimuli. While light quality effects on green basil microgreens are known, the present paper aims at improving the quality of acyanic (green) and cyanic (red) basil microgreens with different ratios of LED blue and red illumination. Growth, assimilatory and anthocyanin pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence, total phenolic, flavonoids, selected phenolic acid contents and antioxidant activity were assessed in microgreens grown for 17 days. Growth of microgreens was enhanced with predominantly blue illumination, larger cotyledon area and higher fresh mass. The same treatment elevated chlorophyll a and anthocyanin pigments contents. Colored light treatments decreased chlorophyll fluorescence ΦPSII values significantly in the green cultivar. Stimulation of phenolic synthesis and free radical scavenging activity were improved by predominantly red light in the green cultivar (up to 1.87 fold) and by predominantly blue light in the red cultivar (up to 1.73 fold). Rosmarinic and gallic acid synthesis was higher (up to 15- and 4-fold, respectively, compared to white treatment) in predominantly blue illumination. Red and blue LED ratios can be tailored to induce superior growth and phenolic contents in both red and green basil microgreens, as a convenient tool for producing higher quality foods.
Asunto(s)
Ocimum basilicum/química , Antioxidantes/química , Antioxidantes/farmacología , Carotenoides/química , Clorofila/química , Flavonoides/química , Luz , Fenoles/químicaRESUMEN
Although they are widely used as insecticides, acaricides and fungicides in the agriculture or as raw materials in the dye industry, dinitrophenols (DNPs) are extremely noxious, death cases having been registered. These compounds produce cataracts, lower leucocyte levels, disturb the general metabolism and can cause cancer. It is also assumed that DNPs hinder the proton translocation through the mitochondrial inner membrane and therefore inhibit oxidative phosphorylation. Their fluorescence quenching properties can help understand and explain their toxicity. Fluorescence quenching of tryptophan was tested using different dinitrophenols such as 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP), 4,6-dinitro-orthocresol (DNOC), 2-[(2,4-dinitrophenyl)amino]acetic acid (GlyDNP), 2-(1-methyl-heptyl)-4.6-dinitrophenyl crotonate (Karathan), 2-amino-5-[(1-((carboxymethyl)amino)-3-((2,4-dinitrophenyl)thio)-1-oxopropan-2-yl)amino]-5-oxopentanoic acid (SDN GSH), 2,4-dinitroanisole (2,4-DNA) and 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid (2,4-DNB). 2,4-DNP and DNOC showed the highest tryptophan fluorescence quenching constant values, these being also the most toxic compounds. The electronic chemical potential value of the most stable complex of 2,4-DNP-with tryptophan is higher than the values of the electronic chemical potentials of complexes corresponding to the derivatives.