# Comparative Photosynthetic Induction Reveals Stomatal Limitation and Reduced Efficiency in Digitalis purpurea Versus Cucumis sativus

## TL;DR

Foxglove plants grow slowly due to inefficient photosynthesis, mainly because their stomata respond too slowly to changes in light.

## Contribution

The study identifies stomatal limitation as the primary cause of reduced photosynthetic efficiency in Digitalis purpurea.

## Key findings

- D. purpurea takes three times longer to adjust photosynthesis when light increases compared to Cucumis sativus.
- Stomatal limitation accounts for 64.3% of total photosynthetic constraints in D. purpurea.
- D. purpurea has a 20.4% lower water-use efficiency during photosynthetic induction than Cucumis.

## Abstract

Digitalis purpurea, commonly known as foxglove, is an important medicinal plant that produces heart medications. However, it grows slowly compared to food crops, limiting medicine production. This study investigated why D. purpurea has poor growth by comparing it with Cucumis sativus plants, a fast-growing crop. We found that when light conditions change from low to high, D. purpurea takes three times longer than Cucumis to adjust its photosynthesis machinery. Limitation analysis revealed that D. purpurea was predominantly limited by stomatal functions, which control gas exchange for photosynthesis, responding too slowly to light changes. Understanding these limitations helps scientists develop better growing methods for D. purpurea, potentially increasing medicine production through improved greenhouse lighting strategies or breeding programs targeting faster stomatal responses.

Digitalis purpurea, valued for its cardiotonic glycosides, remains an important medicinal species. Optimizing cultivation to enhance photosynthetic efficiency is critical for improving both biomass accumulation and metabolite yield. In this study, we compared the photosynthetic induction responses of D. purpurea from low light to high light with those of Cucumis sativus, a high-performance reference species, to identify key physiological constraints. Compared with Cucumis, D. purpurea exhibited lower net photosynthetic rate (A) and maximum carboxylation rates (Vcmax) under both induction and steady-state conditions (Af and Vcmaxf). The time required to reach steady-state photosynthesis was substantially longer in D. purpurea, resulting in significantly lower cumulative carbon gain (20.6 vs. 28.8 mmol m−2) and a higher carbon loss ratio (10.7% vs. 6.8%). In addition, the averaged WUEi during induction in D. purpurea was 20.4% lower than in Cucumis; this reduction was exacerbated by continued stomatal opening after photosynthesis stabilized, leading to further inefficiency in water use. Limitation analysis further revealed contrasting dominant constraints: biochemical limitation accounted for 88.8% of total limitation in Cucumis, whereas stomatal limitation predominated in D. purpurea (64.3%). Together, these results highlight stomatal regulation as the primary bottleneck during photosynthetic induction in D. purpurea, leading to transient carbon losses and reduced water-use efficiency, providing a physiological basis for targeted cultivation strategies to improve both productivity and cardiotonic glycoside yield.