Effects of Irradiated Light Intensity on the Amount of Antioxidants and Antioxidative Capacity in Cruciferous Sprouts

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of irradiated light intensity on the amount of antioxidants and antioxidative capacity in broccoli, mustard, kale, and red cabbage sprouts. Antioxidant concentrations were estimated by quantitating total polyohenol, flavonol, and anthocyanin concentration. Antioxidative capacity was evaluated by measuring DPPH radical absorbing capacity and superoxide scavenging ability. Polyphenol and flavonol concentrations were significantly increased in accordance with the light intensity. Antioxidative activity was also increased with light intensity. However, the lengths of sprout hypocotyls were decreased by strong light. These results indicate that the contents of polyphenol including flavonol are increased by strong light and consequently the antioxidative ability becomes stronger. These findings suggest that strong light irradiation should be useful for producing sprouts with higher antioxidative capacity.