Evaluation of growth and nutritional value of Brassica microgreens grown under red, blue and green LEDs combinations

Abstract

Microgreens are rich functional crops with valuable nutritional elements that have health benefits when used as food supplements. Growth characterization, nutritional composition profile of 21 varieties representing five species of the Brassica genus as microgreens were assessed under light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) conditions. Microgreens were grown under four different LEDs ratios (%); red:blue 80:20 and 20:80 (R80:B20 and R20:B80), or red:green:blue 70:10:20 and 20:10:70 (R70:G10:B20 and R20:G10:B70). Results indicated that supplemental lighting with green LEDs (R70:G10:B20) enhanced vegetative growth and morphology, while blue LEDs (R20:B80) increased the mineral and vitamin contents. Interestingly, by linking the nutritional content with the growth yield to define the optimal LEDs setup, we found that the best lighting to promote the microgreen growth was the green LEDs combination (R70:G10:B20). Remarkably, under the green LEDs combination (R70:G10:B20) conditions, the microgreens of Kohlrabi purple, Cabbage red, Broccoli, Kale Tucsan, Komatsuna red, Tatsoi and Cabbage green, which can benefit human health in conditions with limited food, had the highest growth and nutritional content.

Nutrient Supplementation Configures the Bioactive Profile and Production Characteristics of Three Brassica L. Microgreens Species Grown in Peat-Based Media

“…Several biological processes related to the growth and development of plants are based on the presence of minerals (17 key minerals), which are also conveyed to human nutrition [18]. The present results on microgreens macronutrient content were in the range obtained by Weber [11] on cabbage, by Kamal et al [13] on Brussels sprouts and green cabbage and by Kyriacou et al [12,27], who assessed several Brassica microgreens on peat-based substrate. Moreover, potassium and calcium were among the most abundant minerals detected in microgreens, which is in line with the results of Waterland et al [39] for Brassica microgreens.…”

“…Whereas, lutein and β-carotene decreased by 14.3 and 16.4%, respectively, in Brussels sprouts and cabbage on average. The human immune system is boosted by carotenoids (lutein, β-carotene), which possess a free-radical scavenging function, vanquishing cancer proliferation and shielding eye tissues [13]. Our observed trend regarding carotenoids response in rocket was in line with the results of Wieth et al [25], but was the opposite for cabbage and Brussels sprouts; these species were in line with kale microgreens results presented by Kopsell et al [42], where an increasing N rate provoked a linear increase of carotenoid pigments on a dry weight basis.…”

“…Microgreens constitute a fresh popping crop with antioxidant punch, naturally dense in nutrients without the interference of biofortification or genetic engineering [11]. Their consumption is rising due to their high nutrient content [1,12,13], vivid colors and intense flavors [14][15][16]; they are highly packed in secondary metabolites compared to their mature counterparts [15,17,18]. Notably, Brassica microgreens are a prominent choice due to their simple germination, short growing cycle and the potential health benefits attributed to their content of vitamins, polyphenols, glucosinolates, etc.…”

“…Notably, Brassica microgreens are a prominent choice due to their simple germination, short growing cycle and the potential health benefits attributed to their content of vitamins, polyphenols, glucosinolates, etc. [3,13].…”

The Use of a Nutrient Quality Score is Effective to Assess the Overall Nutritional Value of Three Brassica Microgreens

“…Although several studies have been carried out regarding the nutritional evaluation of microgreens [8,9,11,13,15,[22][23][24], only one reports the nutritional ranking of some microgreens on the basis of an index that is able to summarize the overall nutritional quality [14]. At the same time, the literature lacks research into the adoption of this evaluation method to be used not only to compare different genotypes but also to assess the effects of growing conditions on the microgreens' nutritional quality.…”