Artificial lighting for receiving functional food

There are opportunities to improve the yield and quality of agricultural plants by combining advances in environmental control, physiology and automated systems that allow you to grow more diverse range of crops with optimal size, supporting the emphasis on consumer properties such as taste or the accumulation of the substances beneficial to health. The objective of this review study is to determine the effect of artificial lighting in closed agro-ecosystems on changing morphophysiological traits, accumulation of biologically active substances in plants, and their role in producing functional food. Biologically active compounds in plants are known as primary or secondary metabolites giving plants flavor, color and taste. The studies have shown that the quality and intensity of light affect both the biomass of plants and the concentration of beneficial compounds (ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, essential oils, soluble sugars and proteins, starch, polyphenol, the synthesis of β-carotene, lutein, α-tocopherol, macro- and microelements); during the maturation of cultures may have different effects on metabolic composition and promote the accumulation of biologically active compounds affecting the quality of fruits. Management of hydroponic nutrient solution promotes the production of low-calorie vegetables as well as vegetables with low nitrate content. High level of ecological control in closed agroecosystems with artificial lighting, allows controlling circadian rhythms of plants. The manipulation of spectrum, intensity and time of light gives new possibilities for practical selection in controlled environment.