Short-term phosphorus deficiency induces flavonoid accumulation in the lamina of pak choi: A finishing treatment that influences inner quality

• Published in: Scientia horticulturae Vol. 314; p. 111953
• Main Authors: Waqas, Muhammad, Wang, Li, Jones, Jeffrey J., Josef Turetschek, Reinhard, Engelmeier, Doris, Geilfus, Christoph-Martin, Koch, Mirjam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.04.2023
• Subjects: Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis; chloroplasts; electron transport chain; energy; health promotion; humans; hydroponics; Kaempferol; leaves; metabolites; nutrient solutions; Oxidative stress; phosphorus; photosynthetic electron transport; Quercetin; Reactive oxygen species; toxicity; vegetables; Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species; Kaempferol; Quercetin
• ISSN: 0304-4238; 1879-1018
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2023.111953

•Short-term phosphorus deficiency was evaluated as a method for influencing quality.•Flavonoids accumulate in pak choi in response to short-term phosphorus omission.•Short-term phosphorus omission bears benefit for the consumer. Plants that suffer phosphorus (P) deficiency acclimate to these inconvenient conditions by synthesizing flavonoids. These metabolites have features that are useful to withstand a mild P deficiency, e.g. antioxidative properties for reactive oxygen species scavenging. Moreover, flavonoid accumulation in photosynthetically active leaf tissue shields the chloroplasts from excessive light energy, doing so by intercepting photons. This is relevant because lack of P feedback inhibits photosynthetic electron transport chain, a process that would give rise to toxic amounts of reactive oxygen species. The idea of the presented study was to subject pak choi to a short P deficiency in order to induce accumulation of the human health-promoting flavonoids a few days before harvest. Pak choi was selected because it is a widely consumed leafy vegetable that has the genetic capacity to synthesize flavonoids. First, plants were hydroponically cultivated with sufficient P. Eight days before harvest, P was omitted from the nutrient solution. In result, the lamina of fully-grown harvested leaf enriched in eight flavonoids, among them quercetin, kaempferol and flavone structures. However, the entire shoot lost water. This is a problem because this means a reduction of marketable yield. Of note, P concentrations were not yet reduced in the lamina of the fully-grown harvested leaf that accumulated the flavonoids. This is indicatory for systemic stress signals that transmit information for example of a P deprivation to distant tissue. [Display omitted]