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Agriculture
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Greens—Biofortification for Improved Nutritional Quality
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Greens—Biofortification for Improved Nutritional Quality

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2026) | Viewed by 2332

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ivna Štolfa Čamagajevac

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: plant antioxidative status; abiotic stress; heavy metals; metalloids; biofortification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lidija Kalinić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: barley; maize; abiotic stress; plant stress tolerance; antioxidant capacity; gene expression; lignification; cell wall
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Selma Mlinarić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: photosynthesis; chlorophyll fluorescence; abiotic stress; plant physiology; microgreens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, there has been increasing interest in growing greens (sprouts, microgreens and baby leaf vegetables) due to people's awareness of their multiple positive effects on health. In addition to having an intense flavour, various microgreens also have a high content of bioactive compounds such as vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, significantly impacting human health. The advantages of growing greens are certainly the short growing cycle and very little space for growing. Also, unlike adult vegetables, they have a lower content of phytate, an antinutrient that reduces mineral absorption, and therefore have better bioavailability and show better mineral element absorption. Biofortification is a sustainable and cost-effective strategy for enhancing the nutritional value of crops, including greens. In recent years, a wide range of different agronomic and genetic technologies have been used in vegetable biofortification. 

Therefore, for this Special Issue, articles (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modelling approaches and methods) that focus on sprouts, microgreens, and baby leaf vegetables biofortification are welcomed for publication.

Dr. Ivna Štolfa Čamagajevac
Dr. Lidija Kalinić
Dr. Selma Mlinarić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microgreens
  • sprouts
  • baby leaf vegetables
  • biofortification
  • bioactive compounds
  • interspecific metabolite transfer

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1793 KB  
Article
Industrial Hemp Finola Variety Microgreens: A Sustainable Source of Selenium Biofortified Functional Foods
by Boris Ravnjak, Ivana Varga, Manda Antunović, Josipa Jović, Monika Tkalec Kojić, Mariana Casari Parreira and Antonela Markulj Kulundžić
Agriculture 2026, 16(3), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030292 - 23 Jan 2026
Viewed by 941
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of selenium (Se) biofortification on growth, biomass accumulation, and micronutrient composition of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L., cv. Finola) microgreens, with emphasis on Se uptake and its distribution among leaves, stems, and [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of selenium (Se) biofortification on growth, biomass accumulation, and micronutrient composition of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L., cv. Finola) microgreens, with emphasis on Se uptake and its distribution among leaves, stems, and roots. Microgreens were subjected to four Se treatments (Se_0, Se_2, Se_4, and Se_6 µmol Se/L), and changes in morphological traits, micronutrient status (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn), and Se accumulation were assessed. Selenium biofortification had a marked impact on plant morphology and biomass. Stem length decreased by 12–18% under Se treatments compared with the control, whereas root length increased slightly, particularly at Se_2 and Se_4 (up to +6%). Fresh industrial hemp microgreens biomass responded strongly to Se supply, with the highest stem, root, and total fresh mass recorded at Se_4—representing an increase of 15–22% relative to control plants. At the highest Se level (Se_6), biomass declined by approximately 10–14%, indicating potential growth inhibition at excessive Se concentrations. Micronutrient concentrations were significantly affected by Se. Leaf Mn increased from 152 mg kg−1 at Se_0 to 175 mg kg−1 at Se_6 (+15%), while leaf Zn decreased by 20–25% at higher Se exposure. Stems and roots showed similar antagonistic interactions, with Fe and Zn decreasing by up to 30% at elevated Se levels. Conversely, Mn in stems and roots increased with Se up to Se_4, reaching 400 mg kg−1 in roots. Selenium accumulation exhibited a strong linear response to biofortification, with high coefficients of determination (R2 = 0.9685–0.9943), confirming predictable and efficient Se uptake. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive associations among biomass-related traits and distinct interactions among micronutrients, especially the near-perfect correlation between Se and Cu in roots (r ≈ 0.99). Overall, industrial hemp microgreens demonstrate potential for selenium biofortification, provided that selenium application levels remain within safe dietary limits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greens—Biofortification for Improved Nutritional Quality)
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17 pages, 698 KB  
Article
Biofortification of Baby Leaf Lettuce with Iron and Zinc: Agronomic and Nutritional Impacts
by Gildeon Santos Brito, Arthur Bernardes Cecílio Filho, Fernanda Abduche Galvão Pimentel, Gean Rodrigues Rossi, Francisco Laurimar do Nascimento Andrade, Daniel Pietragala Alves and Alexandre Rinaldi Humel Junior
Agriculture 2026, 16(2), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16020175 - 9 Jan 2026
Viewed by 896
Abstract
Inadequate intake of Fe and Zn is prevalent in a large part of the world’s population, and agronomic biofortification has been a strategy to improve the nutritional quality of food and, consequently, the nutrient intake by people. The objective of this study was [...] Read more.
Inadequate intake of Fe and Zn is prevalent in a large part of the world’s population, and agronomic biofortification has been a strategy to improve the nutritional quality of food and, consequently, the nutrient intake by people. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Fe and Zn concentrations in the nutrient solution on the morphophysiological traits, nutritional quality, and biofortification of two cultivars of baby leaf lettuce in a deep water technique hydroponic system. Two experiments were conducted, one with ‘Vanda’ lettuce (green) and the other with ‘Luminosa’ lettuce (reddish). Six treatments were evaluated, in a 3 × 2 factorial scheme, corresponding to the concentrations of Fe (2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg L−1) and Zn (0.06 and 0.24 mg L−1), with four replicates. ‘Vanda’ proved to be more productive, while ‘Luminosa’ has a higher nutraceutical value. The growth traits, yield, and leaf contents of carotenoids and anthocyanins of both cultivars were not influenced by the increase in Fe and Zn concentrations in the nutrient solution. There was a 25% and a 33% increase in the content of phenolic compounds in ‘Vanda’ and ‘Luminosa’, respectively, when the Fe concentration increased from 2 to 8 mg L−1. The Fe content in ‘Vanda’ was influenced only by the Fe concentration in the nutrient solution and increased by 13% between 2 and 8 mg L−1 of Fe. For ‘Luminosa’, there was an interaction, but the highest Fe contents in the shoot were observed with 8 mg L−1 of Fe, which were 24 and 38% higher than those obtained with 2 mg L−1 of Fe at Zn concentrations of 0.06 and 0.24 mg L−1, respectively. The study showed the importance of evaluating the biofortification for cultivars. While ‘Vanda’ baby leaf was biofortified only with Fe, ‘Luminosa’ was biofortified with both micronutrients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greens—Biofortification for Improved Nutritional Quality)
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