TASS, November 20. /TASS/. Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University biologists developed a way to increase the optimal concentration of selenium in basil leaves by intensifying biosynthesis, the press service of the university reported.
Selenium deficiency in a human body can cause risks of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes, the press service quotes the researcher of the Institute of Living Systems at the BFU Lyubov Skrypnik. On the other hand, high doses of selenium can cause toxic effects in both humans and plants. Thus, when enriching plants with selenium it is very important to choose the optimal concentration of this microelement.
“As part of the research we discovered that the infusion of selenium's microelement in a nutrient solution (concentration of 5 µM) or spraying it with a plant solution (concentration of 10 μM) are optimal; they ensure a safe level of this trace element in basil leaves. What is more, at these concentrations andusing the processing methods the scientists detected an increase in the content of essential oils, hydroxycinnamic acids, the amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidants in the basil," the press service quoted Skrypnik as saying.
The researcher recalled that many kinds of vegetables, especially lettuce and spice plants, are being cultivated hydroponically. Due to this, one can not only get the crops all year round, but also set and control the conditions they are being grown in.
"The obteined results can be used by agricultural enterprises engaged in the cultivation of basil, in order to get better products, in terms of nutritional properties," said the Russian scientist.
The results of the study are published in the scientific journal Plants.