Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices

As an essential mineral element, selenium (Se) must be consumed by organisms through food and beverages. A method used to raise the amount of Se in food made from plants is biofortification, which is the process that increases the bioactivity and content of Se in the edible parts of plants. Foliar f...

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Main Authors: Ján Mezey, Ivana Mezeyová, Adrián Selnekovič, Daniel Bajčan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Beverages
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/11/2/53
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author Ján Mezey
Ivana Mezeyová
Adrián Selnekovič
Daniel Bajčan
author_facet Ján Mezey
Ivana Mezeyová
Adrián Selnekovič
Daniel Bajčan
author_sort Ján Mezey
collection DOAJ
description As an essential mineral element, selenium (Se) must be consumed by organisms through food and beverages. A method used to raise the amount of Se in food made from plants is biofortification, which is the process that increases the bioactivity and content of Se in the edible parts of plants. Foliar fertilization is the most feasible method of introducing selenium into the food chain. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of foliar biofortification with Selenium on various quality attributes of fruit species suitable for fruit-based beverage production, with the main goal of verifying the incorporation of Se into plant tissues. During the growing season in 2023, sodium selenate was applied in an equivalent of 150 g/ha Se in professional raspberry, blueberry, redcurrant, honeysuckle and apple plantings, from which fruit-based juice was later produced and analyzed. There was significant increase (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) in the Se content in the fruit’s juice, which was the main goal. Furthermore, after the application of Se under the mentioned conditions, there was a significant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) increase in nutritionally valuable parameters, such as antioxidant activity, ferulic acid and resveratrol, but also the content of glucose, fructose, malic acid, total acids, Mn, Ba, Ca, Li, myricetin and chlorogenic acid content. On the other hand, a decrease in some valuable indicators, but also heavy metals (Al, Cu, Cr), were noticed in some fruit juices.
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spelling doaj-art-f73380c19c5c46f3beb536c2220f93fa2025-08-20T02:28:27ZengMDPI AGBeverages2306-57102025-04-011125310.3390/beverages11020053Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and JuicesJán Mezey0Ivana Mezeyová1Adrián Selnekovič2Daniel Bajčan3Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak Agriculture University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, SlovakiaInstitute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak Agriculture University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, SlovakiaInstitute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak Agriculture University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, SlovakiaInstitute of Food Sciences, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak Agriculture University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, SlovakiaAs an essential mineral element, selenium (Se) must be consumed by organisms through food and beverages. A method used to raise the amount of Se in food made from plants is biofortification, which is the process that increases the bioactivity and content of Se in the edible parts of plants. Foliar fertilization is the most feasible method of introducing selenium into the food chain. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of foliar biofortification with Selenium on various quality attributes of fruit species suitable for fruit-based beverage production, with the main goal of verifying the incorporation of Se into plant tissues. During the growing season in 2023, sodium selenate was applied in an equivalent of 150 g/ha Se in professional raspberry, blueberry, redcurrant, honeysuckle and apple plantings, from which fruit-based juice was later produced and analyzed. There was significant increase (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) in the Se content in the fruit’s juice, which was the main goal. Furthermore, after the application of Se under the mentioned conditions, there was a significant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) increase in nutritionally valuable parameters, such as antioxidant activity, ferulic acid and resveratrol, but also the content of glucose, fructose, malic acid, total acids, Mn, Ba, Ca, Li, myricetin and chlorogenic acid content. On the other hand, a decrease in some valuable indicators, but also heavy metals (Al, Cu, Cr), were noticed in some fruit juices.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/11/2/53fruitseleniumbiofortificationbeveragesjuice
spellingShingle Ján Mezey
Ivana Mezeyová
Adrián Selnekovič
Daniel Bajčan
Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
Beverages
fruit
selenium
biofortification
beverages
juice
title Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
title_full Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
title_fullStr Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
title_full_unstemmed Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
title_short Foliar Selenium Biofortification in Temperate Fruit Crops: Impact on Selenium Accumulation and Nutritional Quality of Fruits and Juices
title_sort foliar selenium biofortification in temperate fruit crops impact on selenium accumulation and nutritional quality of fruits and juices
topic fruit
selenium
biofortification
beverages
juice
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/11/2/53
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AT ivanamezeyova foliarseleniumbiofortificationintemperatefruitcropsimpactonseleniumaccumulationandnutritionalqualityoffruitsandjuices
AT adrianselnekovic foliarseleniumbiofortificationintemperatefruitcropsimpactonseleniumaccumulationandnutritionalqualityoffruitsandjuices
AT danielbajcan foliarseleniumbiofortificationintemperatefruitcropsimpactonseleniumaccumulationandnutritionalqualityoffruitsandjuices