Hydrogen-rich water reestablishes ROS homeostasis but exerts differential effects on anthocyanin synthesis in two varieties of radish sprouts under UV-A irradiation.

The aims of the study were to investigate whether hydrogen gas (H2) was involved in regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in two contrasting radish (Raphanus sativus L.) varieties (low [LA] and high [HA] level of anthocyanin) under UV irradiation. The results showed that hydrogen-rich water (HRW) significantly blocked the UV-A-induced increase of H2O2 and O2(•-) accumulation, and enhanced the UV-A-induced increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities in LA and HA. Furthermore, UV-A-induced increase of anthocyanin and total phenols was further enhanced only in HA sprouts cotreated with HRW. LC-MS/MS analysis showed that five anthocyanidins existed in HA sprouts, but only two in LA sprouts. Meanwhile, the cyanidin was the most abundant anthocyanidin in HA, and the cyanidin was 2-fold higher cotreated with HRW than UV-A. Molecular analyses showed that the anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes were upregulated significantly in both HA (in particular) and LA sprouts treated with HRW plus UV-A. These data imply that HRW reestablishes reactive oxygen species homeostasis in both LA and HA, but exerts different effects on anthocyanin accumulation between them under UV-A.