Effects of LED Grow Light on Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Vegetables

The proteins, carbs, organic acids and vitamins in fruits and vegetables are good for human health. Light quality can influence the content of VC in crops through controlling the activity of VC synthesis and decomposing enzymes, in addition, to regulate the protein metabolism and carbs buildup in horticultural plants. Red light stimulates the accumulation of carbs, and blue light is helpful to protein structure, while the mixture of red and blue light has an appreciably greater influence on the nutritional quality of plants than single color light. For lettuce, LED red or blue light can decrease the nitrate, applying blue or green light can boost the amount of soluble sugar, and replenishing infrared light is effective to promote the VC synthesis. For tomato growing, blue light LED grow lights can enhance the content of VC and soluble protein. The mix of red and blue light and red light can increase the value sugar and acid. Furthermore, red and blue combined light can raise the VC content in

LED plant grow light with red and blue combined light

cucumber.
The phenolic substances, flavonoids, anthocyanins and other substances contained in fruits and vegetables do not merely have a significant effect on the color, flavor and commercial value of vegetables and fruits as well as have natural antioxidant activity, which can effectively inhibit or eliminate free radicals in human body. The use of LED grow lights with blue light can truly improve the anthocyanin of eggplant by 73.6%, while utilizing of LED red light, red and blue mixed light can increase flavonoids and total phenolic content. Blue light can increase the content of lycopene, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in tomato. The combination of red and blue light advances the creation of anthocyanins but prevents the synthesis of flavonoids. In contrast to the white light LED plant lights, red light can enormously boost the anthocyanin content in the upper part of lettuce, nevertheless, the blue light treated lettuce has the lowest anthocyanin content. The entire phenolic content of green leaf, purple leaf, and red leaf lettuce had greater amounts under white light, red and blue combined light, and blue light, but the smallest value under red light. Supplementing LED UV or orange light can raise the value of phenolic compounds in lettuce leaves while providing green light can increase anthocyanin content.
Consequently, the effective use of LED grow lights with suitable color is a useful method to enhance the nutritional quality of facilities fruits and vegetables.