Nutritional and growth enhancement of alfalfa sprouts through cold plasma and UV seed treatments

TL;DR

This study investigates eco-friendly cold plasma and UV seed treatments to improve alfalfa sprout germination, growth, and phytochemical content, demonstrating significant enhancements in biomass and phytochemical levels.

Contribution

It introduces the combined use of cold plasma and UV treatments as innovative, eco-friendly methods to enhance alfalfa sprout quality and productivity.

Findings

Cold plasma accelerates germination by 8 hours.

Cold plasma increases biomass by 25.87 mg/sprout.

UV-C boosts chlorophyll and flavonoid content.

Abstract

Employing eco-friendly techniques like cold plasma (CP) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation provides innovative approaches to enhance the sprout quality and productivity of alfalfa. This study explores the effects of CP and UV radiation on the germination, growth, and phytochemical profiles of alfalfa sprouts. CP significantly accelerated germination time, reducing median germination time by 8 hours compared to the control, and enhanced photo synthetic pigments, leading to higher biomass (25.87 mg/sprout fresh weight and 1.45 mg/sprout dry weight). UV treatments, particularly UV-C, increased chlorophyll and total flavonoid content. Overall, CP effectively promotes alfalfa germination and growth, while UV treatments improve specific phytochemicals.