Effects of NaCl concentrations on glucosinolate and carotenoid biosynthesis in Chinese cabbage sprouts grown under light and dark conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25081/jaa.2026.v12.10115Keywords:
NaCl, Biosynthesis, Glucosinolate, Carotenoid, Light and Dark, Chinese CabbageAbstract
This study aimed to determine the effect of NaCl concentration (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) on glucosinolate and carotenoid biosynthesis in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) sprouts under light and dark conditions. In terms of light, the total glucosinolate content significantly decreased from all NaCl concentrations compared to the control, while the carotenoid content sharply decreased in a progressive manner throughout the entire NaCl gradient, mostly due to β-carotene and lutein. The total glucosinolate content under dark conditions initially reduced at 50-150 mM but at 200 mM almost reached 74% of the control level, whereas the total carotenoid content exhibited a clear biphasic response, increasing slightly at 50 mM and then decreasing as NaCl increased. When the individual compounds were analysed, it was found that the profile of glucosinolates was not consistently affected by NaCl; aliphatic glucosinolates (such as glucoraphanin and neoglucobrassicin) tended to decrease with increasing salinity, whereas indolic glucosinolates (glucobrassicin and 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin) generally increased with increasing salinity in both light and dark conditions. These results indicate that light condition affects both direction and magnitude of NaCl effects on secondary metabolism, such as recovery of Chinese cabbage sprout (CAB) in response to high salinity, while light-grown CAB shows a dose-independent, sustained repression of secondary metabolism after a low-salt threshold. This study serves as a foundation for developing optimized elicitation strategies with NaCl to improve the nutraceutical quality of Chinese cabbage sprout in functional food.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Minhwan Lee, Chanung Park, Nam Su Kim, Md Romij Uddin, Ramaraj Sathasivam, Haenghoon Kim, Sang Un Park
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