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. 2020 Aug 19;68(33):8757-8763.
doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c03851. Epub 2020 Aug 5.

Blue:Red LED Light Proportion Affects Vegetative Parameters, Pigment Content, and Oxidative Status of Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) Wheatgrass

Maria Luce Bartucca  1 , Marcello Guiducci  1 , Beatrice Falcinelli  1 , Daniele Del Buono  1 , Paolo Benincasa  1
Affiliations

Blue:Red LED Light Proportion Affects Vegetative Parameters, Pigment Content, and Oxidative Status of Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) Wheatgrass

Maria Luce Bartucca et al. J Agric Food Chem. .

Abstract

This work aimed to study the effect of some light spectra on the growth, oxidative state, and stress of einkorn wheatgrass (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum). To this end, six light treatments, having the same total incident photon flux density (PFD) of 200 μmol m-2 s-1, were applied to einkorn and compared: only blue light; only red; three blue:red combinations, at different proportions of total PFD (75:25%, 50:50%, and 25:75%, respectively); and a wide spectrum, taken as a control treatment, composed of blue (18% of PFD), red (18%), and intermediate wavelengths (64%). Light treatments affected the contents of pigments (chlorophylls and carotenes), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and malondialdehyde (MDA). These results revealed the changes in the oxidative status of wheatgrass, in response to the different light treatments. However, the dichromatic light with blue ≥50% of the total PFD appeared to be the best combination, guarantying good wheatgrass yield, increasing pigment content, and reducing H2O2 and MDA when compared to the other light treatments. Our findings also contribute to explaining the available literature on the effect of these kinds of light on the increase in phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in einkorn wheatgrass.

Keywords: LED; carotenoids; chlorophylls; hydrogen peroxide; malondialdehyde; wavelength.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Side and top views of one tray of einkorn wheatgrass from each light treatment. B100: only blue light; R100: only red light; B75R25: blue 75% + red 25% of total PFD; B50R50: blue 50% + red 50% of total PFD; B25R75: blue 25% + red 75% of total PFD; WIDE = wide spectrum, composed of blue 18% + red 18% + intermediate wavelengths of the remaining 64% of total PFD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationships between either individual wheatgrass height (A) or fresh weight of 10 individuals (B) and percent fraction of total PFD for blue (white squares) and red (black diamonds) radiation in einkorn.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chlorophyll a (A), chlorophyll b (B), and carotenoid (C) concentration (mg g–1 FW) found in einkorn wheatgrass grown with the different light treatments. Data are means + SD, and significant differences among samples are indicated by different letters (P < 0.05) (n = 3).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration (μmol g–1 FW) ascertained in einkorn wheatgrass grown with the different light treatments. Data are means + SD, and significant differences among samples are indicated by different letters (P < 0.05) (n = 3).
Figure 5
Figure 5
MDA content (nmol g–1 FW) found in einkorn wheatgrass grown with the different light treatments. Data are means + SD, and significant differences among samples are indicated by different letters (P < 0.05) (n = 3).
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