Effect of LED lighting duration on biochemical composition of microgreens of white cabbag

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in public interest in healthy and balanced foods all over the world. In this respect, the microgreens of white cabbage is a source of a wide range of useful substances and is characterized by a higher content of those, compared with a similar commercial vegetable. At the same time, information about technological aspects of cultivation, which relate to the duration of lighting, about their correlation with biochemical composition of microgreens of industrial varieties and hybrids of this crop is insufficient and is limited to a very narrow set of their parameters. For this reason, it is of particular relevance to identify the optimal duration of LED lighting in the white cabbage microgreens crop, which ensures accumulation of the highest nutritional and vitamin value and determines the taste qualities of this product. The results of a comparative study of 14 quantitative parameters of biochemical composition of white cabbage microgreens (content of dry, tannic and pectin substances, free organic, ascorbic and hydroxycinnamic acids, soluble sugars, the main groups of bioflavonoids – i.e. anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins, catechins, flavonols and the indicator of sugar acid index) with different duration of LED lighting are presented (8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 hours). The less significant effect of the studied factor on biochemical composition of microgreens was revealed at 10 hour exposure, while the maximum, exceeding it three times, was at 16 hour exposure. It has been shown that the highest integral level of nutritional and vitamin value of products according to the total analyzed indicators was provided at 16 hours of LED lighting, while the minimum – at 8 hours. For the first time in the Republic of Belarus, the optimal duration of LED lighting for the accumulation of physiologically valuable compounds by microgreens of white cabbage was revealed, which made it possible to recommend it to be used for industrial production.

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