Plant growth and metabolic changes in 'Super Hot' chili fruit (Capsicum annuum) exposed to supplemental LED lights

Esther Shiau Ping Yap; Apiradee Uthairatanakij; Natta Laohakunjit; Pongphen Jitareerat; Ashish Vaswani; Armando Alcazar Magana; Jeffrey Morre; Claudia S Maier

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.110826

Plant growth and metabolic changes in 'Super Hot' chili fruit (Capsicum annuum) exposed to supplemental LED lights

Plant Sci. 2021 Apr:305:110826. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.110826. Epub 2021 Jan 14.

Authors

Esther Shiau Ping Yap¹, Apiradee Uthairatanakij², Natta Laohakunjit³, Pongphen Jitareerat⁴, Ashish Vaswani⁵, Armando Alcazar Magana⁶, Jeffrey Morre⁷, Claudia S Maier⁸

Affiliations

¹ Division of Postharvest Technology, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Bangkhuntien), 49 Tientalay 25, Thakam, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand. Electronic address: estheryap86@gmail.com.
² Division of Postharvest Technology, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Bangkhuntien), 49 Tientalay 25, Thakam, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand. Electronic address: apiradee.uth@kmutt.ac.th.
³ Division of Biochemical Technology, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Bangkhuntien), 49 Tientalay 25, Thakam, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand. Electronic address: nutta.lao@kmutt.ac.th.
⁴ Division of Postharvest Technology, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Bangkhuntien), 49 Tientalay 25, Thakam, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand. Electronic address: pongphen.jit@kmutt.ac.th.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: vaswania@oregonstate.edu.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: alcazara@oregonstate.edu.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: jeff.morre@oregonstate.edu.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 153 Gilbert Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: claudia.maier@oregonstate.edu.

PMID: 33691960
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.110826

Abstract

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of different colors improve plant growth and increase levels of secondary metabolites. This study aimed to determine the effect of red, blue, and red + blue LEDs (1:1) on the secondary metabolites composition in chili, focusing on capsaicinoids, at the top and middle of the plant canopy in 'Super Hot' chili. The accumulated yield of the chili fruit was the highest for control, followed by blue, red and red + blue LEDs, with the top canopy giving twice more yield than the middle canopy. UPLC-MS/MS analysis of chili fruit's methanolic extracts was used to determine capsaicinoids levels. Blue LEDs significantly increased nordihydrocapsaicin, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin and homodihydrocapsaicin contents by 57 %, 43 %, 56 %, 28 %, and 54 %, respectively, compared to the control. Also, 24 tentatively annotated metabolites, including phenylalanine, cinnamate, and valine, which are involved in the biosynthesis of capsaicinoids, were semi-quantitatively evaluated to determine the impact of LED exposure on the biosynthetic pathway of capsaicinoids. Supplemental blue LED placed at the top and between the canopy may boost the levels of capsaicinoids in chili fruit grown in greenhouses.

Keywords: Capsaicinoids; Capsicum; LED; Secondary metabolites; UPLC–MS/MS; Yield.

MeSH terms

Capsaicin / metabolism*
Capsicum / growth & development*
Capsicum / metabolism*
Crop Production / methods*
Crops, Agricultural / growth & development*
Crops, Agricultural / metabolism
Fruit / growth & development*
Fruit / metabolism*
Light*
Secondary Metabolism

Substances

Capsaicin