Effects of artificial lighting on bioactivity of sweet red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Recent studies have shown that artificial light effectively promotes the growth and development of red peppers when light spectra, intensities and duration are controlled. Cited reports deal mostly with studies involving with the growth stages of pepper. Changes in the biochemical status of plants were not studied. Therefore, this study focuses on the changes in the content of some bioactive compounds (polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacities) after artificial lightening [high-pressure sodium and light-emitting plasma (LEP) lamps] during the cultivation of sweet red pepper. The bioactive compounds differ slightly, depending on the source of light. Fluorescence spectra showed higher binding properties of LEP polyphenol extracts to human serum albumin (HSA) than other samples. FTIR peaks were similar in their polyphenols region for all investigated samples.