Abstract
Consumer demand for vegetables of fortified mineral and bioactive content is on the rise, driven by the growing interest of society in fresh products of premium nutritional and functional quality. Biofortification of leafy vegetables with essential micronutrients such as iron (Fe) is an efficient means to address the human micronutrient deficiency known as hidden hunger. Morphometric analysis, lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of green and red butterhead lettuce cultivars in response to Fe concentration in the nutrient solution (0.015 control, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mM Fe) were assessed. The experiment was carried out in a controlled-environment growth chamber using a closed soilless system (nutrient film technique). The percentage of yield reduction in comparison to the control treatment was 5.7%, 13.5% and 25.3% at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mM Fe, respectively. Irrespective of the cultivar, the addition of 1.0 mM or 2.0 mM Fe in the nutrient solution induced an increase in the Fe concentration of lettuce leaves by 20.5% and 53.7%, respectively. No significant effects of Fe application on phenolic acids and carotenoid profiles were observed in green Salanova. Increasing Fe concentration in the nutrient solution to 0.5 mM triggered a spike in chlorogenic acid and total phenolics in red Salanova lettuce by 110.1% and 29.1% compared with the control treatment, respectively; moreover, higher accumulation of caffeoyl meso tartaric phenolic acid by 31.4% at 1.0 mM Fe and of carotenoids violaxanthin, neoxanthin and β-carotene by 37.0% at 2.0 mM Fe were also observed in red Salanova compared with the control (0.015 mM Fe) treatment. Red Salanova exhibited higher yield, P and K contents, ascorbic acid, phenolic acids and carotenoid compounds than green Salanova. The wok shows how nutrient solution management in soilless culture could serve as effective cultural practices for producing Fe-enriched lettuce of premium quality, notwithstanding cultivar selection being a critical underlying factor for obtaining high quality products.
Highlights
Food obligations and unbalanced diets lead to malnutrition that causes up to 3 million children deaths each year [1]
No information is available on how biofortification with an essential micronutrient such as Fe could differentially modulate the nutritional and functional quality of lettuce, accounting for potential interaction with tested cultivars. In view of this background, our aim was to assess the effect of different Fe application rates within the nutrient solution on growth parameters, fresh yield, mineral composition, antioxidant activities, nitrate and ascorbic acid contents as well as on phenolics and carotenoids profiles of green and red pigmented butterhead lettuce grown in nutrient film technique (NFT) system under controlled environment
Our findings highlighted that biofortification of butterhead lettuce with an essential micronutrient such as Fe could be facilitated by closed soilless cultivation due to the constant exposure of root apparatus to the fortified nutrient solution
Summary
Food obligations and unbalanced diets lead to malnutrition that causes up to 3 million children deaths each year [1]. This phenomenon, known as hidden hunger, is affecting both industrial and developing countries. The cultivation in poor soils or where nutrients are not phytoavailable, negatively affect human health, causing deficiencies in vitamins and in essential and/or beneficial micronutrients [1,2,3]. Does not reach the optimal range for plant growth (10−9 –10−4 M) [4]. Fe is involved in very important processes, in both plants and humans, such as respiration, photosynthesis, and oxygen transport [4,5]. Two billion people are anemic worldwide and according to the World
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