Role of LED in Productivity of Superfood Importance of RGB light

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Role of LED in Productivity
of Superfood
PRESENTED BY:
ANURAN MAJUMDER
(M.TECH)
18AG64R05
Agricultural & Food Engineering Department
IIT Kharagpur

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What is
superfood?
Superfood refers to food with high levels of either
nutrient or bioactive phytochemicals with human
health benefits

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• Phytochemicals
naturally occurring compounds in plants that provide their color, flavor and odor
• Plant Productivity
Plant productivity is not only dependent on irradiance but also on light quality,
which refers to the spectral composition of light
• Phytochrome
Phytochromes are a class of photoreceptors in plants, bacteria and fungi used to
detect light
• PPFD – Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF) Density
Number of photosynthitically active photons falling on a given surface each
second
Terms Involved

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• They have small size, durability, long operating lifetime, wavelength
specificity, relatively cool emitting surfaces
• These advantages are coupled with new developments in wavelength
availability, light output, and energy conversion efficiency
• Compared with scorching hot, high-intensity discharge emitters, cooler LED
emitters can be brought much closer to plant tissues. LEDs, therefore,
can be operated at much lower energy levels to give the same incident PPF
at the photosynthetic surface.
Why LED?

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• Growth of lettuce plants under red LEDs supplemented with blue fluorescent
(BF) lamps was equivalent to that under cool-white fluorescent (CWF) plus
incandescent lamps.
• Spectral measurements of red LEDs, red LEDs plus BF, red LEDs plus far-red
LEDs, and metal halide (MH) lamps indicated similar phytochrome
photostationary states but significantly higher levels of long-wave radiation
from the MH lamps, indicating the thermal advantages of using LEDs in plant
growth systems.
• More recent studies have showed that rice plants grown under a combination
of red (660 nm) and blue (470 nm) LEDs sustained higher leaf photosynthetic
rates than did leaves from plants grown under red LEDs only
Early Testing

6. 4THCOFFEEImportance of Blue Light
• The use of red LED light to power
photosynthesis has been widely
accepted for two primary reasons:
• The McCree curves indicate that red
wavelengths (600 to 700 nm) are efficiently
absorbed by plant pigments
• Early LEDs were red with the most efficient
emitting at 660 nm, close to an absorption
peak of chlorophyll
• Blue light has a variety of important
photomorphogenic roles in plants,
including stomatal control, which affects
water relations and CO2 exchange, stem
elongation and phototropism

7. 4THCOFFEE • Studies at the Kennedy Space Centre showed wheat seedlings germinating under 500 mmol.m–2.s–1 of
red LED light failed to develop chlorophyll but that supplementation with only 30 mmol.m–2.s–1 of blue
light, or just reducing red PPF to 100 mmol.m–2.s–1, restored chlorophyll synthesis
• Goins et al. (1997) used LEDs as sole-source lighting for chamber grown wheat and compared red LEDs
alone, red with 1% BF, and red with 10% BF with daylight fluorescent lamps. Plants were grown under a
24-h photoperiod a 350 mmol.m–2.s–1 PPF in each case. The findings showed that wheat could complete a
life cycle with red light alone, although added blue light produced larger plants with greater numbers of
seeds
• Yorio et al. (1998) summarized previous blue light work and reported that yield of lettuce, spinach, and radish
crops grown under red LEDs alone was reduced compared with when 35 mmol.m–2.s–1 of blue fluorescence
was included to give the same final PPF. This combination of red plus blue was sufficient to give yields
comparable to those found under CWF at the same PPF
• Leaf morphology was abnormal for plants grown under red alone with downward curling of leaf margins
and spiral growth of the rosette, but inclusion of blue light at any level restored normal leaf morphology
• Yorio et al. (2001) grew lettuce, radish, and spinach plants under red LEDs with or without 10% BF (30
mmolm–2s–1) and compared growth with that of plants grown under CWF at the same PPF. Spinach
and radish plants grown under CWF had significantly higher dry weights than plants grown under
LEDs.
ResultsObtainedfromvariouspapers

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• Experiment was conducted to examine the changes in leaf anatomy of pepper
under different color combinations of light. They used red (660 nm) LEDs
combined either with FR (735 nm) LEDs or BF lamps compared with MH
controls, all at the same PPF. Treatments without added blue had the
lowest leaf cross-sectional area, whereas red + 1% BF was intermediate in
response, and MH controls (at 20% blue) had the greatest leaf thickness
and most chloroplasts
• An observation was made that the IR LED radiation made seedlings
significantly straighter and trained them to the gravity vector. The authors
proposed the activation of a ‘‘gravitropism photon-sensing system’’ with
potential involvement of phytochrome.
• Far-red light is important for stimulating flowering of long-day plants
Studies with Far-Red and Infrared
LEDs

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• Previous studies indicate that even with blue light added to red LEDs, plant
growth is still better under white light.
• Plants grown under red plus blue light appear purplish gray, and disease
and disorder become difficult to diagnose.
Importance of Green Light
Chard and lettuce plants growing under red plus blue (A) or red plus blue plus green (B) light emitting
diodes (LEDs). Plants grow equally well under both combinations but leaves appear purplish
under the red plus blue, making visual assessment of plant condition difficult. Addition of green
LED light resolves this problem for human visual perception.
Figure

10. 4THCOFFEE Possible solution is
Using a small amount of green light
Kim et al. (2004a) grew lettuce plants under red and blue LEDs with and without 5% (6
mmol m–2s–1) green from LEDs with both treatments at the same total PPF (136 mmol m–2s–1)
They observed no impact on lettuce growth with all measurable characteristics such as
photosynthesis rate, shoot weight, leaf area, and leaf number being the same with and without
green.
They followed this work with another lettuce study to determine the effects of higher
levels of green light under a total PPF of 150 mmol m–2s–1 and an 18-h photoperiod
(Kim et al., 2004b)

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Led lighting system
Red and blue LEDs with
green fluorescence
RGB (24 % Green)
Red and blue LEDs
without green
fluorescence
RB (0 % Green)
Green Fluorescence
alone
GF (86% green)
Cool White
Fluorescence
CWF (51% green)
Lettuce plants grown with RGB had higher fresh and dry weights and greater leaf area
than those grown with CWF or RB alone
Plants grown under GF alone had the least biomass of all treatments
Further work with the same system (Kim et al., 2004c) examined gS (Stomatal Conductance)
Amount of Carbon dioxide entering or
water vapor leaving through stomata

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Although lettuce grown under CWF showed greater maximal gS than under
RB, RGB, or GF, dry mass accumulation was highest in the RGB treatment,
indicating that gS did not limit photosynthesis under the growth conditions
provided
Kim et al. (2006) summarized the experiments with green supplementation of red and blue
LED light and concluded that:
Light sources consisting of more than 50% green cause reductions in plant growth,
whereas combinations including up to 24% green enhance growth for some species
CONCLUSION

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The supplemental blue light (HPS + Blue)
covered the whole blue region (400-500 nm) of
the spectrum, almost identical to the curve
measured in a dark room from a SB
(supplemental blue) LED unit (Blue Lamp).
However, since there was scattered light from
HPS (high pressure sodium) lamps, the SB
treatment also received some light from the red
(around 600 nm) region of the spectrum
Spectral curves in the experiment expressed as
photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) under
HPS treatment (high pressure sodium lamp) and SB
treatment (supplemental blue), and under a blue led
unit system in dark room without HPS lamps.

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The experiment was carried out at:
Greenhouse of the Botanical Gardens, University of Oulu, Northern Finland(65°N)
Plant materials studied:
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum cv. Gigante d’Italia)
Basil (Ocinum basilicum cv. Napolitanisches Basilikum)
Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum cv. Chocolate Cherry)
Parsley Tomato Basil

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Field Arrangement of Plants
Each plot contains:
• 2 Tomato plants
• 10 basil plants
• 13 Parsley plants
25 Plants A
1
2
3
4
5
Row
Total plot area = 65 cm X 105 cm
A
Images shown here are not the actual images of the exp.

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Seeds
Basil Tomato Parsley
Commercial Peat Substrate
(Kekillä White 420 W)
Parsley has a
low germination
rate
Germination
Temperature : 20±1o C
Light period : 9 hours
Relative Humidity: 80%
Seedlings
Sowing 1
2
3
HPS Light
Treatment
High Pressure sodium lamps
( Phillips Master 400 W)
Lamp light
intensity was
300 µmol m-2 s-1
4
Images shown here are not the
actual images of the exp.

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Individual Seedlings
9 x 9 cm
Pots
(0.75 ltrs)
4
Transplatation
• First Tomato Leaves emerged
• Only shoot apices between the cotyledons
were visible in parsley and basil
AT THIS STAGE
Seedlings are transformed to bigger pots
2 weeks before the start of the experiment to
acclimatize
Maximum & minimum theoretical solar power available at the beginning and end of the experiment
was 80 W & 2 W respectively.
Fertilization of the plants was done with Kekkilä 14 Starex (N-PK16-4-25), provided in the context of
daily water (Dosatron DI 16 pump, Farmos Ltd.), where concentration of fertilization was 0.15%

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Designing of SB treatment
Supplemental Blue treatment was designed to
boost the blue region of the spectrum
 120 W LED panel lamp units (Led Finland) was used
having the following compositions:
• 410 nm  5%
• 430 nm  18%
• 450 nm  48%
• 460 nm  29%
 SB plots were illuminated by led lamp system set at
0.6 m height above the pots

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Designing of HPS treatment
The HPS plots were illuminated by one 400 W HPS
lamp set at 1 m height above the pots
The experiment was built into a greenhouse room.
It consisted of plots alternating so that every second was
either a HPS or SB plot, where the total number of plots
was four (n= 4) in both treatments

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Laboratory measurements
The experiment was terminated by cutting the biomass above pot soil, placing it into paper bags
and drying.
All the above-soil biomass was used for the analysis, except for the tomato, in
which only leaves were collected
• The milled plant powder (8 to 10 mg) was extracted with 600 µL cold methanol for 30 s and
left to stand on an ice bath for 15 min.
• The samples were then centrifuged at 13 000 rpm for 3 min, and the supernatant separated.
• The extraction was repeated 4 more times.
• The dried extracts were dissolved in 300µL methanol and 300 µL milli-Q-water.
• The samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography
PROCESS

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• The compounds were quantified at 220 (some phenolics), 270 (most of phenolics) or 3
320 (flavonoids) nm using commercial or purified standards
• The compounds were identified using UHPLC-DAD (Model 1200 Agilent Technologies)-
JETSTREAM/QTOFMS (Model 6340 Agilent Technologies)
Statistics:
Statistical comparison between the treatments was performed with the T-test (IBM
SPSS Statistics 20 Software).

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RESULTS
The results detailed above are the first evidence that
supplemental blue light significantly induces the
accumulation of bioactive compounds in herbal
foodstuffs.
In addition, this response was species-dependent, i.e. the same
environmental signal (blue) stimulated production of different species-
specific compounds in the species.

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Many of the phenolic compounds found in plants have been shown to demonstrate marked
antioxidant activity
Some of the specific health benefits of the enhanced bioactive compounds found in this study could
be summarized as follows:
• Chlorogenic acid reduces the uptake of glucose, and thereby obviously decreases the risk of
diabetes type 2
• Quercetin is found to be effective in treatment of fibromyalgia because of its potential anti-
inflammatory effects.
• Chicoric acid (= dicaffeoyltartaric acid) has antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antiviral and
immunostimulating health effects.
• Apigenin has been shown to possess remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-
carcinogenic properties .
Discussion

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Kaempferol 3-glucoside belongs to the group of flavonols that have a wide range of pharmacological
activities including antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, cardio-protective,
neuroprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-osteoporotic, estrogenic/antiestrogenic, anxiolytic, analgesic and anti-
allergic activities.
Rosmarinic acid has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and protection against UV radiation .
Tartaric acid enhances human Fe(II) and Fe(III) uptake .
It may be summarized that
Flavonoids can carry out a wide variety of beneficial functions for human health, and any
food with high amounts of these bioactive compounds belongs undoubtedly to the
superfoods

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Applications
• “Arctic flavors” can be produced at lower latitudes using supplemental blue light.
• Secondly, ordinary people could benefit by boosting herb quality in their greenhouse or window box,
making superfoods accessible to all.
• Thirdly, any commercial production of biomedicine or health foods benefit directly from net
productivity of bioactive compounds, since a 450% increase in productivity – as in the case
of apigenin 7-glucoside in parsley - may save the equivalent amount in production costs (
i.e. space, energy, plant material, nutrient).
• Finally, it should be highlighted that LED lamp systems are ecologically sustainable and
cost-effective, since they use only 20-30% of the electricity of conventional high pressure
sodium lamps.

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University of Oulu Botanical Gardens
Total area of botanical gardens is 16 hectares. While
outdoor gardens grow plants suitable for local weather,
there are two pyramid-shaped greenhouses housing
plants from warmer climatic zones. The two pyramids
have been named as Romeo and Juliet.

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