The effect of LED light on plant growth and phenolic compounds present in three species of mentha

Exposure to different light spectra results in a variety of physiological responses. The present study focused on the responses of three species of Mentha (Mentha piperita, Mentha spicata and Mentha longifolia) to artificial light of selected wavelengths (including red, blue, red + blue, and white LED light and natural light). The study was performed as a factorial (Mentha species and light spectra) pot experiment in the form of a randomized complete block design with four replications. The results demonstrated that the quality of light had a statistically significant effect upon all the measured traits. Blue light was shown to produce the highest number of shoots in Mentha longifolia, and the longest shoots were also observed under blue light conditions in Mentha longifolia. A combination of red + blue light produced the highest shoot weight in Mentha piperita, which was significantly different from other treatments. The highest amount of rosmaric acid was found in Mentha spicata grown under red + blue light conditions which was approximately 425% more than in plants grown under natural light. In Mentha piperita, cultivation under blue light produced the highest concentration of luteolin (37 times compared to natural light) and red light produced the highest concentration of ellagic acid (3 times compared to natural light). This study deals with how differences in light quality affected the growth traits and phenolic compound accumulation of Mentha species, under controlled environmental conditions. The results obtained, are of application for the commercial production of these agronomically important mint species.

Citation

Mostafavizadeh Ardestani, S.M., Karimmojeni, H., Ghafori, A., Sabzalian, M.R., Baldwin, T.C., Razmjoo, J. (2025) The Effect of LED Light on Plant Growth and Phenolic Compounds Present in Three Species of Mentha. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-025-11825-1

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer Nature on 26/07/2025. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-025-11825-1 For re-use please see Springer's terms and conditions.

ISSN

0721-7595

EISSN

1435-8107

Collections

Faculty of Science and Engineering