麻豆淫院

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) investigated the factors that regulate seasonal variation in the nutritional quality of red cabbage. They analyzed the influence of light and temperature on the formation of cancer-preventive and anti-inflammatory compounds in simulations of summer and autumn cultivation. The results show that the nutritional value of red cabbage can be enhanced through targeted cultivation strategies.

When preparing and consuming cruciferous vegetables, health-promoting isothiocyanates are formed from sulfur-containing glucosinolates. Previous studies have shown that their levels in red cabbage vary depending on the harvest time.

In the current study, red cabbage cultivation was simulated under controlled conditions. The aim was to better understand the influence of light and temperature, individually and in combination, on the formation of these compounds.

The , published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that high light intensities and warm temperatures promote the formation of beneficial isothiocyanates. In contrast, cool conditions with low light intensity favored the formation of other breakdown products such as nitriles and epithionitriles.

This shift is linked to certain "specifier proteins," whose activity was strongly influenced by light. Molecular biology analyses confirmed that environmental factors such as light and temperature specifically regulate glucosinolate metabolism, and thus the health potential, of red cabbage.

"Our findings deepen the understanding of how abiotic growth factors influence health-relevant compounds in cruciferous vegetables," explains Prof. Dr. habil. Franziska S. Hanschen, research group leader at IGZ and head of the Department of Phytonutrient Management at the Technische Universit盲t Berlin. "They demonstrate that the nutritional value of cabbage can be improved through targeted cultivation strategies."