Abstract
Introduction: Providing fresh and healthy vegetables, produced locally and under climate-friendly conditions, is a major challenge for future agriculture. The usage of foil tunnels prolongs cultivation periods in colder climates and reduces abiotic and biotic stress factors during crop growth, but it may also affect nutritional value and consumer perception due to the altered light spectrum. Methods and results: Three different foils, one with low UV transmission, another with reduced UVB transmission, and a control foil with high UV transmission, were used to modulate light conditions for three different lettuce cultivars [radicchio type (cv. Indigo), romaine type (cv. Attico), and butterhead type (cv. Larissa)]. Taste-relevant sesquiterpene lactones and health-relevant carotenoids and polyphenols were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, which revealed that light conditions are widely irrelevant for carotenoid concentrations. However, when UV-shielding foils were used, there was an up to 66% decrease in total polyphenol concentration. Less reduction could be achieved through the use of partially UV-transmissive foils. Sesquiterpene lactone concentrations were higher in plants under UV-blocking foils, when radicchio-type lettuce, naturally rich in sesquiterpene lactones, was cultivated. Discussion: It is noteworthy that the sesquiterpene lactone lactucopicrin had a negative correlation with UVB intensities, while lactucin was unaffected. The nutritional value, measured by three different antioxidant activity assays, also benefited from an optimized foil choice with higher UV transmission.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Light conditions had little effect on carotenoid concentrations.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivars
Lactuca sativat0 - Treatment
- light conditionse0
- Outcome
- carotenoid concentrationse0
- Direction
- widely irrelevante0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“light conditions are widely irrelevant for carotenoid concentrations”
t0“lettuce cultivars (Lactuca sativa L. and Cichorium intybus L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-shielding foils reduced total polyphenol concentration by up to 66%.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UV-shielding foilse0
- Outcome
- total polyphenol concentratione0
- Direction
- decreasee0
- Value
- up to 66%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“when UV-shielding foils were used, there was an up to 66% decrease in total polyphenol concentration”
t0“lettuce cultivars (Lactuca sativa L. and Cichorium intybus L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Partially UV-transmissive foils yielded less polyphenol reduction.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- partially UV-transmissive foilse0
- Outcome
- total polyphenol concentratione1
- Direction
- Less reductione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Less reduction could be achieved through the use of partially UV-transmissive foils.”
e1“total polyphenol concentration”
t0“lettuce cultivars (Lactuca sativa L. and Cichorium intybus L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-blocking foils increased sesquiterpene lactone concentrations in radicchio-type lettuce.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Material
- radicchio-type lettucee0
- Treatment
- UV-blocking foilse0
- Outcome
- Sesquiterpene lactone concentrationse0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Sesquiterpene lactone concentrations were higher in plants under UV-blocking foils, when radicchio-type lettuce, naturally rich in sesquiterpene lactones, was cultivated.”
t0“lettuce cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Lactucopicrin concentration was negatively correlated with UVB intensity.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UVB intensitiese0
- Outcome
- lactucopicrine0
- Direction
- negative correlatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lactucopicrin had a negative correlation with UVB intensities”
t0“lettuce cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Lactucin was unaffected by UVB intensity.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- UVB intensitiese0
- Outcome
- lactucine0
- Direction
- unaffectede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lactucopicrin had a negative correlation with UVB intensities, while lactucin was unaffected”
t0“lettuce cultivars”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher UV transmission improved antioxidant activity across three assays.
- Taxon
- lettuce cultivarsLactuca sativat0
- Treatment
- optimized foil choice with higher UV transmissione0
- Outcome
- antioxidant activitye0
- Direction
- benefitede0
- Qualifier
- three different antioxidant activity assayse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The nutritional value, measured by three different antioxidant activity assays, also benefited from an optimized foil choice with higher UV transmission.”
t0“lettuce cultivars”
The same questions in other papers
uv · quality: phytochemicals · Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)Results differ
23 papers in the same direction as this paper · 4 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
24 papers more in this group
See all 28 papers →light · physiology: pigments · Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)Positive and negative results
7 papers in the same direction as this paper · 44 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
48 papers more in this group
See all 52 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.