Today, we are seeing a rise in the demand by consumers for health-giving, nutritious products that improve physical performance, cut the risk of disease and increase lifespan. So the scientific community is redoubling its efforts to obtain foodstuffs with greater nutraceutical quality: quantity of minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidant compounds, vitamins, etc. There are various ways of improving this quality and they include genetic modification, but a recent study by the UPV/EHU has concluded that it it possible to improve lettuce quality by modifying the growing conditions but without compromising productivity.

The study sought to "conduct research to see whether a change in the growing conditions could increase nutraceutical quality in two lettuce cultivars differentiated by their pigmentation (green and red lettuces)", explained Dr Usue Pérez-López. "The change in the growing conditions consisted of subjecting the plants to short-duration stresses, since the most important thing is not to lose productivity". As many nutraceutical compounds perform defence functions in the plants, she explained that "if stress conditions are applied to them (such as watering them with salinated water, subjecting them to high light intensity or working with raised concentrations of CO2)," these defences will become intensified and, as a result, the antioxidant qualities of the plants will be boosted.

The results of the research show that the production of biomass and nutritional quality of the lettuce can be modified but the response depends on the cultivar, and the choice of best growing technique (using high light intensity or salt water alone, or accompanied by high CO2) depends on the characteristics of the lettuce one is seeking to modify.

This study was carried out on a laboratory level but "we would like to be able to test it in greenhouses". From now on they will go on studying lettuce behaviour under different combinations of conditions to obtain a greater antioxidant capacity in them, and they are considering various hypotheses that they want to test out in future studies.

Additional information

Usue Pérez-López is a graduate in Biology and received her PhD in 2008. She conducted this study in the FisioClimaCO2 Research Group of the Department of Plant Biology and Ecology in the UPV/EHU's Faculty of Science and Technology; the group is formed by Alberto Muñoz, Maite Lacuesta, Amaia Mena, Jon Miranda and the researcher herself. The results of the study have been included in two articles each published recently in the scientific journal Scientia Horticulturae.

Bibliographical references

Pérez-López U., Miranda-Apodaca J., Lacuesta M., Mena-Petite A., Muñoz-Rueda A. (2015). "Growth and nutritional quality improvement in two differently pigmented lettuce cultivars grown under elevated CO2 and/or salinity". Scientia Horticulturae. Vol. 195.

Pérez-López U., Miranda-Apodaca J., Muñoz-Rueda A., Mena-Petite A. (2015). "Interacting effects of high light and elevated CO2 on the nutraceutical quality of two differently pigmented Lactuca sativa cultivars (Blonde of Paris Batavia and Oak Leaf)". Scientia Horticulturae. Vol. 191.

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Mejoran la calidad de la lechuga modificando las condiciones de cultivo - Un estudio concluye que es posible enriquecer su calidad nutricional sin modificarlas genéticamente

Una investigadora del Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología de la UPV/EHU ha comprobado que se puede mejorar la calidad nutracéutica de la lechuga modificando las condiciones de cultivo sin perder productividad. El grupo de investigación FisioClimaCO2, al que pertenece la investigadora Usue Pérez-López, ha aplicado diversas condiciones de estrés a las plantas y ha comprobado los cambios que se producen en la composición, en consecuencia.

En la actualidad, va en aumento la demanda por parte de los consumidores de productos sanos y nutritivos que mejoran el rendimiento físico, reducen el riesgo de enfermedades y aumentan la duración de vida. Por tanto, la comunidad científica está redoblando sus esfuerzos en conseguir alimentos con mejor calidad nutracéutica: cantidad de minerales, proteínas, hidratos de carbono, compuestos antioxidantes, vitaminas, etc. Hay diferentes maneras para mejorar esa calidad, entre las que se encuentra la modificación genética, pero un estudio reciente de la UPV/EHU ha concluido que es posible mejorar la calidad de la lechuga modificando las condiciones de cultivo sin perder productividad.