Gainesville, FL--A University of Florida (UF) study is showing scientists how specific light wavelengths can manipulate volatile compounds that control aroma and taste in several high-value crops including petunia, tomato, strawberry, and blueberry. We already know that deep-ultraviolet LED light preserves strawberries and ultraviolet light makes red lettuce a deeper red with more antioxidants, but the findings open the door to more studies regarding the wavelength-dependent attributes of fruits and plants.
Light may someday be used to improve the flavor and nutritional content of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and even the scent of flowers, said Thomas Colquhoun, an assistant professor in environmental horticulture at UF and lead author of the study that was published online this month by the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology.
The team began with petunia cuttings, exposing them to narrow-bandwidth LED light in varying wavelengths. They found that a key floral volatile called 2-phenylethanol increased when the plant was exposed to red and far-red treatments. They conducted similar tests on tomato, strawberry, and blueberry, finding that flavor volatiles in each of those fruits could be manipulated with light. Blueberry volatiles changed the least, but the changes were still statistically significant, said Kevin Folta, chairman of UF’s horticultural sciences department. Folta and Colquhoun are part of UFls Institute for Plant Innovation, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
The technology will likely find its way into grocery store produce sections, greenhouses, and food companies involved in postharvest handling and shipping, Folta said. And consumers might someday find the technology used in their homes, as well. "You might even see it used in your refrigerator--instead of you closing the door and the light goes out, you'll close the door and the light goes on," Folta said. "And it'll all happen in a way that positively influences the flavor profiles of food."
The team is now working with UF dentistry professor and taste expert Linda Bartoshuk on a National Institutes of Health-funded study that will test whether consumers can taste differences in light-treated fruit. Tariq Akhtar, a colleague of Colquhoun and Folta and soon-to-be faculty member at the University of Guelph in Ontario, studies plant molecular compounds and said the UF study describes a "noninvasive, subtle change" that could unlock vast potential for plants used for both food and medicines.
The UF research team also included Michael Schwieterman, a graduate student in the plant molecular and cellular biology program; Jessica Gilbert, a graduate student in horticultural sciences; Elizabeth Jaworski, Kelly Langer, Correy Jones, Gabrielle Rushing and Tia Hunter, undergraduate students in environmental horticulture; James Olmstead, an assistant professor in horticultural sciences; and David Clark, a professor in environmental horticulture and director of the Institute for Plant Innovation.
SOURCE: University of Florida; http://news.ufl.edu/2013/07/22/lighting/