Effects of nanocarbon solution treatment on the nutrients and glucosinolate metabolism in broccoli

The effects of a nanocarbon solution on the nutrients, glucosinolate metabolism and glucoraphanin pathway in broccoli were investigated. Significant positive linear relationships were observed between the nanocarbon solution and total protein yield, although effects on the soluble sugars, vitamin C and dry matter production were not observed. All nanocarbon solutions significantly increased the glucoraphanin content (p < 0.05), and the 18.75 L·ha(−1) nanocarbon solution maximally increased the glucoraphanin content by 22.9 %. However, these treatments also significantly reduced the contents of glucobrassicin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin and neoglucobrassicin. Further research demonstrated that the 18.75 L·ha(−1) nanocarbon solution significantly upregulated the MAM1, IPMI2, CYP79F1, FMOgs-ox2, AOP2, and TGG1 expression levels, which directly resulted in the accumulation of glucoraphanin and glucoerucin. This study provides insights into the prospective nanotechnological approaches for developing efficient and environmentally friendly nanocarbon solution for use on crops.