Effect of polyculture on the phenological and nutraceutical attributes of Amaranthus, Cucurbita, Medicago, Ocimum and Salvia species grown as microgreens

Production of microgreens; young plants with a central stem, and a pair of true leaves; has gained traction in the culinary world due to their flavor and aesthetic qualities. Microgreens are a source of nutraceutical compounds including terpenoids, polyphenols and carotenoids, while being cheaper and more sustainable to grow. Microgreens are cultivated as a monoculture. Here we investigate the potential value of five species Amaranthus cruentus, Cucurbita ficifolia, Medicago sativa, Ocimum basilicum, and Salvia hispanica with complementary nutraceutical profiles, grown separately and in polyculture, to assess their potential as a well-rounded source of nutraceuticals. Seeds were surface disinfected and sowed in containers with coco coir, for the monocultures 100 seeds per container for all species except C. ficifolia with 12 seeds, for the polycultures 4 seeds of C. ficifolia and 66 each of the rest of the species per container. Biophysical measurements were obtained, nutraceutical quantification included Total Ascorbic Acid, Total Phenolic Compound, Total Carotene Concentration, Total Tocopherol Determination and Antioxidant Capacity by ORAC. Biophysical properties remained the same or decreased for all the species except A. cruentus shoot length, M. sativa, S. hispanica and C. ficifolia root length. For the nutraceutical content ([Table 1]) all components tended to increase or stay the same except for antioxidant capacity which decreased for all species. This study demonstrates that the use of polyculture in microgreens is an efficient method to raise nutraceutical components, more work needs to be done to limit the detrimental effect on yield.

Table 1 Nutraceutical content of plants grown in monoculture (M) and polyculture (P)

 

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023