Student/presenter: Shivani Kathi, Ph.D. Student, Horticulture
Format: Oral presentation
Title: Increasing vitamin C in arugula and broccoli microgreens
Shivani Kathi*1, Haydee Laza1, Sukhbir Singh1, Leslie Thompson2, Wei Li3, and Catherine Simpson1
1Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tx, 79409
2Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tx, 79409
3Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tx, 79409
Vitamin C is an essential antioxidant which aids in strengthening the immune system and preventing anemia. However, humans do not have the ability to biosynthesize vitamin C and must acquire it through diet. The supply of vitamin C through food is often inconsistent because plants and vary widely in concentrations. Limited research is available on agronomic vitamin C biofortification, especially microgreens. Biofortification of microgreens for increased vitamin C offers a solution to address vitamin C deficiencies. In this study, arugula and broccoli microgreens were grown in enhanced nutrient solutions with five different concentrations of ascorbic acid (AA) (i.e., 0% control, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.25% and 0.5%). Microgreens were harvested with the appearance of the tip of first true leaves, and analyzed for biomass, AA, and chlorophylls in arugula and broccoli. Additionally, broccoli microgreens were analyzed for essential minerals concentration. Results showed that increased application of AA improved vitamin C concentration in both arugula and broccoli microgreens. However, the biomass was reduced with application of highest concentration of AA (i.e., 0.5%) in arugula microgreens. Alternatively, AA supplementation in broccoli microgreens improved chlorophylls, biomass, and K concentration. In conclusion, vitamin C can be biofortified in microgreens with application of AA. Furthermore, the effect of AA supplementation is species-specific and resulted in improved yield parameters in broccoli microgreens.