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Article

Determining the Effect of Different Concentrations of Spent Coffee Grounds on the Metabolomic Profile of Swiss Chard

by
Thabiso Motseo
and
Lufuno Ethel Nemadodzi
*
Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus, Johannesburg 1710, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Plant Biol. 2025, 16(3), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb16030088 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 23 June 2025 / Revised: 28 July 2025 / Accepted: 5 August 2025 / Published: 7 August 2025

Abstract

In the coming decades, the agricultural system will predictably rely on organic material to produce crops and maintain food security. Currently, the use of inorganic fertilizers to grow crops and vegetables, such as Swiss chard, spinach, and lettuce, is on the rise and has been proven to be detrimental to the soil in the long run. Hence, there is a growing need to use organic waste material, such as spent coffee grounds (SCGs), to grow crops. Spent coffee grounds are made of depleted coffee beans that contain important soluble compounds. This study aimed to determine the influence of different levels (0.32 g, 0.63 g, 0.92 g, and 1.20 g) of spent coffee grounds on the metabolomic profile of Swiss chard. The 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results showed that Swiss chard grown with different levels of SCGs contains a total of 10 metabolites, which included growth-promoting metabolites (trehalose; betaine), defense mechanism metabolites (alanine; cartinine), energy-reserve metabolites (sucrose; 1,6 Anhydro-β-D-glucose), root metabolites (thymine), stress-related metabolites (2-deoxyadenosine), caffeine metabo-lites (1,3 Dimethylurate), and body-odor metabolites (trimethylamine). Interestingly, caprate, with the abovementioned metabolites, was detected in Swiss chard grown without the application of SCGs. The findings of the current study suggest that SCGs are an ideal organic material for growing Swiss chard for its healthy metabolites.
Keywords: Swiss chard; spent coffee grounds; metabolomic profile; nuclear magnetic resonance; 1,6 trimethylamine; Anhydro-β-D-glucose; 2-deoxyadenosine; 1,3 Dimethylurate; thymine Swiss chard; spent coffee grounds; metabolomic profile; nuclear magnetic resonance; 1,6 trimethylamine; Anhydro-β-D-glucose; 2-deoxyadenosine; 1,3 Dimethylurate; thymine

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MDPI and ACS Style

Motseo, T.; Nemadodzi, L.E. Determining the Effect of Different Concentrations of Spent Coffee Grounds on the Metabolomic Profile of Swiss Chard. Int. J. Plant Biol. 2025, 16, 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb16030088

AMA Style

Motseo T, Nemadodzi LE. Determining the Effect of Different Concentrations of Spent Coffee Grounds on the Metabolomic Profile of Swiss Chard. International Journal of Plant Biology. 2025; 16(3):88. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb16030088

Chicago/Turabian Style

Motseo, Thabiso, and Lufuno Ethel Nemadodzi. 2025. "Determining the Effect of Different Concentrations of Spent Coffee Grounds on the Metabolomic Profile of Swiss Chard" International Journal of Plant Biology 16, no. 3: 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb16030088

APA Style

Motseo, T., & Nemadodzi, L. E. (2025). Determining the Effect of Different Concentrations of Spent Coffee Grounds on the Metabolomic Profile of Swiss Chard. International Journal of Plant Biology, 16(3), 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb16030088

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