Effects of Elevated CO 2 on Nutritional Quality of Vegetables: A Review

• Published in: Frontiers in plant science Vol. 9; p. 924
• Main Authors: Dong, Jinlong, Gruda, Nazim, Lam, Shu K, Li, Xun, Duan, Zengqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 2018
• Subjects: elevated carbon dioxide; antioxidants; environmental factors; protein; soluble sugar; mineral; climate change; greenhouse vegetables
• ISSN: 1664-462X; 1664-462X

Elevated atmospheric CO
(eCO
) enhances the yield of vegetables and could also affect their nutritional quality. We conducted a meta-analysis using 57 articles consisting of 1,015 observations and found that eCO
increased the concentrations of fructose, glucose, total soluble sugar, total antioxidant capacity, total phenols, total flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and calcium in the edible part of vegetables by 14.2%, 13.2%, 17.5%, 59.0%, 8.9%, 45.5%, 9.5%, and 8.2%, respectively, but decreased the concentrations of protein, nitrate, magnesium, iron, and zinc by 9.5%, 18.0%, 9.2%, 16.0%, and 9.4%. The concentrations of titratable acidity, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, lycopene, anthocyanins, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, copper, and manganese were not affected by eCO
. Furthermore, we propose several approaches to improving vegetable quality based on the interaction of eCO
with various factors, including species, cultivars, CO
levels, growth stages, light, O
stress, nutrient, and salinity. Finally, we present a summary of the eCO
impact on the quality of three widely cultivated crops, namely, lettuce, tomato, and potato.