Astaxanthin is a highly effective antioxidant and its application in agricultural production is still unclear. The effects of foliar astaxanthin application on nitrate content, antioxidant quality, and biomass of hydroponic two lettuce genotypes were investigated in the present study.
The 1.0 g L-1 astaxanthin showed the maximum positive effects on gene expression levels of the nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase, and thus significantly reduced nitrate content. Astaxanthin also improved levels of total phenolic, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and most identified individual phenolic compounds by increasing the gene expression levels of the main enzymes involved in phenolic biosynthesis. In addition, soluble sugars, soluble proteins, ascorbic acid, glutathione, and various essential elements of lettuce are significantly enhanced after astaxanthin treatment.
Interestingly, these positive impacts obviously increased the photosynthesis and subsequent biomass of lettuce. In conclusion, astaxanthin application effectively improved the quality and yield of lettuce, showing great potential value in hydroponic lettuce production.
Jiao, Yang & Yuan, Xinyu & Ji, Yinhua & Xu, Jialei & Zhu, Bo & Cui, Jie & Cui, Wenjing & Chen, Qing & Liang, Bin & Zhou, Weiwei. (2025). Foliar astaxanthin application effectively reduces nitrate accumulation and enhances functional traits in hydroponically grown lettuce. Scientia Horticulturae. 339. 113881. DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113881.
Source: Research Gate