Di Serio Annamaria, Aquino Giovanna, Prete Francesco Del, Sansone Francesca, Salviati Emanuela, Basilicata Manuela Giovanna, Manfra Michele, Campiglia Pietro, Ronga Domenico, Pepe Giacomo
Chemistry and Biology Department, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, Fisciano, 84084, Italy.
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via G. Paolo II, Fisciano, Salerno, 84084, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 13;15(1):29612. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-15748-5.
The world is facing new challenges related to climate change and agriculture and is called to ensuring higher crop yield and quality following the concept of food safety, security and efficient resource use. One of the possible strategies could be the valorisation of agro-industrial by-products for the production of biostimulants. The aim of the present work was to assess the action of different protein hydrolysates (PHs) derived by residues of Chlorella vulgaris biomass as biostimulant on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), monitoring the agronomic, physiological and qualitative traits, from seed germination to the harvest. The application of biostimulants derived by PHs had interesting results on lettuce, highlighting several positive effects on the investigated parameters. Additionally, the metabolite profiles of baby leaf lettuce were investigated. In particular, was recorded an improvement of the qualitative traits, as flavonoids and anthocyanins contents, and physiological parameters such as the reduction of stomatal conductance. Our results demonstrated that plants treated with PHs obtained through trypsin-induced hydrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris biomass (TPH-1000) exhibited the highest content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity compared to those treated with water alone or with a commercial biostimulant. Additionally, plants treated with pepsin protein hydrolysates (PPH-1000) showed significant improvements in agronomic, physiological, and qualitative performance. These results suggest that biostimulants derived from agro-industrial by-products represent a promising and resource-efficient approach to support agricultural productivity and food quality in the context of climate change and the need for more sustainable practices.
世界正面临与气候变化和农业相关的新挑战，需要按照食品安全、保障和资源高效利用的理念确保更高的作物产量和质量。一种可能的策略是将农业工业副产品用于生产生物刺激剂。本研究的目的是评估由小球藻生物质残渣衍生的不同蛋白质水解物（PHs）作为生物刺激剂对生菜（Lactuca sativa L.）的作用，监测从种子萌发到收获期间的农艺、生理和品质性状。由PHs衍生的生物刺激剂的应用对生菜产生了有趣的结果，突出了对所研究参数的几个积极影响。此外，还研究了婴儿叶生菜的代谢物谱。特别是，记录到品质性状有所改善，如黄酮类化合物和花青素含量，以及生理参数如气孔导度降低。我们的结果表明，与单独用水或商业生物刺激剂处理的植物相比，用胰蛋白酶诱导水解小球藻生物质获得的PHs（TPH - 1000）处理的植物表现出最高的生物活性化合物含量和抗氧化活性。此外，用胃蛋白酶蛋白质水解物（PPH - 1000）处理的植物在农艺、生理和品质表现上有显著改善。这些结果表明，源自农业工业副产品的生物刺激剂是一种有前景且资源高效的方法，可在气候变化背景下以及对更可持续做法的需求下支持农业生产力和食品质量。
