LAUSR

Leafy herbs grown in traditional soil base systems serve as a potential source of secondary metabolites with antioxidant activity (1) . However, published data on the antioxidant pro fi les of herbs grown under hydroponic vertical farming systems is extremely limited. The aim of this study was to determine the pro fi les of antioxidant-relevant metabolites in vertically farmed herbs. Samples of Italian Basil, Flat Coriander, Flat Parsley, Dill, and Green Mint (n = 10 per crop) were grown in a vertical farming unit, under white light (day night cycle of 18/6 hours). Irrigation was conducted every two hours (during day period) using the Ebb and Flow technique. Plant growing cycle was between 3 weeks plus nursery time; upon harvesting, herbs were freeze-dried overnight. Total Phenolic content (TPC), total carotenoids and chlorophyll, and ascorbic acid/vitamin C were determined in crops using spectrophoto-metric methods. A welch ANOVA with Games-Howell post hoc test was used to verify inter-crop effects if data were normally dis-tributed, otherwise a Kruskal- Wallis test with post-hoc Dunn test was used if data were not normal (RStudio Version 2022.07.2 + 576). In all cases, signi fi cance was achieved when p < 0.05. Phenolic compounds in Italian Basil (40.04 ± 6.08mg/g DW) showed greater content of these compounds in comparison to Flat Parsley (8.49 ± 1.35mg/g DW), Flat Coriander (7.55 ± 0.58mg/g DW), and Dill (7.13 ± 1.63mg/g DW) (p < 0.01). Dill demonstrated higher content of total carotenoids (1.16 ± 0.13mg/g DW) in comparison to other crops (p < 0.01). Flat Parsley (0.60 ± 0.08mg/g DW) showed higher levels in comparison to Green Mint (0.43 ± 0.11mg/g DW), Italian Basil (0.40 ± 0.06mg/g DW), and Flat Coriander (0.20 ± 0.17mg/g DW) (p < 0.05).