Changes in carotenoid content and distribution in living plant tissue can be observed and mapped in situ using NIR-FT-Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) excited Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy has been applied for in situ analysis of carotenoids in living plant samples. Pelargonium x hortorum leaf has been mapped using a Raman mapping technique to illustrate heterogeneous distribution of carotenoids. Mapping has also been employed for visualization of carotenoid changes induced by abiotic and biotic stress. In a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit, inhibition of lycopene biosynthesis and accumulation of beta-carotene are demonstrated in tissue affected by sunscald physiological disorder. Raman map of diseased sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) leaf shows a local carotenoid decline at infection site while the carotenoid accumulation is evident in parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill. Nym.) as a response to Septoria petroselini infestation. Additionally, occurrence of lutein, beta-carotene and capsanthin, and changes in their relative content during bell pepper (Capsicum annum L.) fruit ripening are described by single Raman spectra. Based on these examples, the potential application of NIR-FT-Raman spectroscopy for a non-destructive analysis of carotenoids in various living plant tissues of the size ranging from about 0.01 mm(2) to 35 cm(2) is discussed.

Comparison of a compatible and an incompatible pepper-tobamovirus interaction by biochemical and non-invasive techniques: Chlorophyll a fluorescence, isothermal calorimetry and FT-Raman spectroscopy

“…2D). Interestingly, chlorophyll a was found to be more sensitive than chlorophyll b also to damage caused by light-induced ROS production in tobacco leaves (Barna et al, 2012).…”

“…Membrane damage was detected by measuring ion leakage from inoculated and control whole pepper leaves with a conductivity meter (Radelkis OK-102/10, Budapest, Hungary) as described by Barna et al (1993). Leaves were cut at their petioles from ObPV-, PMMoV-, mock-inoculated and untreated plants and floated on 10 ml of distilled water in Petri dishes.…”

“…This method was used for in situ analysis of primary and secondary metabolites in living plant tissues in two different ways: by pointmeasurements or by two dimensional Raman mapping, which characterizes the distribution of these compounds (Skoczowski and Troc, 2013). FT-Raman spectroscopy was successfully applied to detect changes of the carotenoid level in plant leaves at ambient temperature and pressure without any need for pre-processing (Baranski et al, 2005).…”

New Developments in Lycopene Analysis by Spectroscopic and Chromatographic Techniques, Accompanied With Mathematical Modelling

“…[243], published by American Chemical Society. [242]. NIR-FT-Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be a very useful technique for nondestructive analysis of carotenoids in various living plant tissues.…”

“…6) [242,243]. It has been found that FT-Raman spectroscopy can be successfully applied for the identification of carotenoids directly in the plant tissue and food products without any preliminary sample preparation.…”