IIS - WASABI 2.0

peer reviewe

OPTIBIOMASSE: É tude de la faisabilité agronomique et économique de la culture indoor de plantes médicinales

peer reviewe

Effects of heat stress on Euphorbia peplus growth in hydroponics and subsequent ingenol production

peer reviewedPlant secondary metabolites (PSM) are phytochemicals with high relevance to the pharmaceutical and food industries. The accumulation of PSM occurs often under stress as a protective and/or adaptive mechanism. Environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, fertilization, light intensity, and atmospheric CO2 concentration have all separately a significant impact on plant growth and PSM production. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of heat stress on Euphorbia peplus growth and the subsequent ingenol production. Then, three temperature levels (18, 24, 30°C) were applied. Plants were cultivated in controlled environment chambers using a hydroponic system. Harvesting was conducted over three distinct periods (30 days, 45 days and 60 days). Throughout the crop, agronomic measurements were made (plant height, dry weight percentage), as well as an UPLC analysis of ingenol plant content. In response to heat stress (30°C), the plant's height decreased between the 45th and 60th day of cultivation, the plant bends over and loses leaves. In opposite, the plant's height carried on to increase at 18 and 24°C for all the periods of observation. At 30°C, the plants accumulated more dry matter after 45 and 60 days than the plants grown at other temperatures with a higher plant content of ingenol

Optimization of biomass and cultivation costs of the medicinal plants Euphorbia peplus and Artemisia annua in a vertical hydroponic container

editorial reviewe

The Agro-Economic Feasibility of Growing the Medicinal Plant Euphorbia peplus in a Modified Vertical Hydroponic Shipping Container

peer reviewedVertical farming is considered as a potential solution to increase yield while decreasing resource use and pesticide impacts compared to conventional agriculture. However, the profitability of cultivating ordinary leafy green crops with low market prices in vertical farming is debated. We studied the agronomic feasibility and viability of growing a medicinal plant—Euphorbia peplus—for its ingenol-mebutate content in a modified shipping container farm as an alternative crop cultivation system. The impacts of three hydroponic substrates, three light intensities, three plant localizations and two surface areas on E. peplus yield and cost were tested in several scenarios. The optimization of biomass yield and area surface decreased the cultivation cost, with fresh crop cost per kg ranging from €185 to €59. Three ingenol-mebutate extraction methods were tested. The best extraction yields and cheapest method can both be attributed to ethyl acetate at 120 °C, with a yield of 43.8 mg/kg at a cost of €38 per mg. Modeling of the profitability of a pharmaceutical gel based on ingenol-mebutate showed that economic feasibility was difficult to reach, but some factors could rapidly increase the profitability of this production