Food Science and Technology Library

Microgreens are an emerging class of fresh vegetables that have been recognized as health -promoting foods due to their high phytonutrients and bioactive compounds. However, the major limitation to the growth of the microgreens industry is rapid quality deterioration upon harvest. Several studies have demonstrated that UV-C treatment may be an effective tool to extend the shelf life of fresh vegetables. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of different LED illumination and UV-C irradiation treatments on postharvest quality and phytochemical accumulation in the microgreens. Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) microgreens were used in this study. The microgreens were cultivated under white and red:blue LED illumination. The harvested microgreens were subjected to UV-C irradiation (254 nm) at four different durations (5, 10, 15 and 20 mins) prior stored at 4°C for 12 days. The results showed that the red:blue LED illumination significantly improved the total biomass and chlorophyll content in microgreens. The width of cotyledonary leaves is also longer compared to the microgreens grown under white LED. The total flavonoid content was found higher in microgreens grown under red:blue illumination. The present study also demonstrated that the different durations of UV-C post-harvest treatment significantly influenced the post-harvest quality of microgreens. The harvested microgreens treated with 10 mins of UV-C irradiation have the highest fresh weight, and total chlorophyll and carotenoid content after 12 days of harvest. The long duration of UV -C treatment at 20 mins has caused severe deterioration as it showed the highest percentage of weight loss in the harvested microgreens. The preliminary results postulated that the cultivation of microgreens under red:blue LED illumination coupled with postharvest UV-C treatment potentially improves the post-harvest quality of radish microgreens.