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Molecular Hydrogen: The postharvest use in fruits, vegetables and the floriculture industry

Hancock, John T.; Russell, Grace; Stratakos, Alexandros

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Authors

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John Hancock John.Hancock@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Cell Signalling

Grace Russell

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Alexandros Stratakos Alexandros.Stratakos@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Sustainable Agri-Food Production



Abstract

Featured Application: It is proposed here that the use of molecular hydrogen should be considered more widely for the treatment of post-harvest fruits, vegetables and flowers. This can be applied as a gas, or in solution, and costs associated with its use expected to fall as hydrogen is adopted by other industries. Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been found to have significant effects in a range of organisms, from plants to humans. In the biomedical arena it has been found to have positive effects for neurodegenerative disease and even for treatment of COVID-19. In plants H2 has been found to improve seed germination, foliar growth, and crops: effects being most pronounced under stress conditions. It has also been found that treatment with H2 can improve the postharvest preservation of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Therefore, H2-based treatments may be useful for the storage and transport of food products. H2 can be delivered in a range of manners, from the use of the gas to creating H2-enriched solutions, such as hydrogen-rich water (HRW) or hydrogen nanobubble water (HNW). The exact action of H2 at a biochemical level has yet to be established. Despite this, H2 appears to be safe. Treatments of food with H2 would leave no harmful residues, and H2 itself is safe to use, as exemplified by its biomedical use. With H2 production and transport being developed for other industries, H2 is likely to become cheaper and its use for postharvest maintenance of food may be beneficial to explore further.

Citation

Hancock, J. T., Russell, G., & Stratakos, A. (2022). Molecular Hydrogen: The postharvest use in fruits, vegetables and the floriculture industry. Applied Sciences, 12(20), Article 10448. https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010448

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date Oct 13, 2022
Online Publication Date Oct 17, 2022
Publication Date Oct 17, 2022
Deposit Date Oct 14, 2022
Publicly Available Date Nov 18, 2022
Journal Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
Electronic ISSN 2076-3417
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 20
Article Number 10448
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010448
Keywords hydrogen-rich water; flowers; fruit; molecular hydrogen; postharvest; vegetables
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10038963
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci
Related Public URLs https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Modern_Food

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