{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,16]],"date-time":"2026-02-16T19:52:14Z","timestamp":1771271534372,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,3]],"date-time":"2024-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706918400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) from FCT","award":["UIBD\/00329\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIBD\/00329\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The addition of biostimulants to nutrient solutions of hydroponically grown crops to speed up plant growth and improve plant yield and quality has been attracting more and more attention. This study investigated the effects of wood distillate (WD) addition to hydroponically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants. Two concentrations of WD, 0.2% and 0.5%, were added to the nutrient solution, and biometric (i.e., leaf fresh weight, root fresh weight, root length and root surface area), photosynthetic (i.e., chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid content) and biochemical (i.e., electrolyte leakage, total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and total antioxidant power content) parameters were evaluated. The effects of WD were hormetic, as the 0.2% concentration stimulated biometric and biochemical parameters, while the 0.5% concentration inhibited plant growth. Based on these results, it can be suggested that the addition of 0.2% WD to the nutrient solution has a stimulating effect on the growth of lettuce plants, and could be a successful strategy to boost the yield of crops grown hydroponically.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants13030447","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,5]],"date-time":"2024-02-05T09:31:58Z","timestamp":1707125518000},"page":"447","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Hormetic Effect of Wood Distillate on Hydroponically Grown Lettuce"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8736-1313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Riccardo","family":"Fedeli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"BioAgry Lab, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3100-463X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3404-1017","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefano","family":"Loppi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BioAgry Lab, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy"},{"name":"BAT Center\u2014Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, University of Naples \u2018Federico II\u2019, 80138 Napoli, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0071-7699","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvana","family":"Munzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal"},{"name":"Centro Interuniversit\u00e1rio de Historia das Ci\u00eancias e da Tecnologia Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"53","article-title":"Hydroponics: Key to sustain agriculture in water stressed and urban environment","volume":"22","author":"Sheikh","year":"2006","journal-title":"Pak. J. Agric. Agric. Eng. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Hemathilake, D.M.K.S., and Gunathilake, D.M.C.C. (2022). Future Foods, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gashgari, R., Alharbi, K., Mughrbil, K., Jan, A., and Glolam, A. (2018, January 16\u201318). Comparison between growing plants in hydroponic system and soil based system. Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering, Madrid, Spain.","DOI":"10.11159\/icmie18.131"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tocquin, P., Corbesier, L., Havelange, A., Pieltain, A., Kurtem, E., Bernier, G., and P\u00e9rilleux, C. (2003). A novel high efficiency, low maintenance, hydroponic system for synchronous growth and flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Plant Biol., 3.","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2229-3-2"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.5958\/2455-7145.2018.00056.5","article-title":"Hydroponics as an advanced technique for vegetable production: An overview","volume":"17","author":"Sharma","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Soil Water Conserv."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"13","article-title":"Future food-production systems: Vertical farming and controlled-environment agriculture","volume":"13","author":"Benke","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sustain. Sci. Prac. Pol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"540","DOI":"10.1016\/j.procir.2017.11.048","article-title":"Environmental Impacts of Urban Hydroponics in Europe: A Case Study in Lyon","volume":"69","author":"Romeo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Proc. CIRP"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1038\/scientificamerican1109-80","article-title":"The Rise of Vertical Farms","volume":"301","author":"Despommier","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sci. Am."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"(2023, November 08). European Commision. Available online: https:\/\/joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu\/publications\/agricultural-land-abandonment-eu-within-2015-2030_en#:~:text=The%20incremental%20abandonment%20within%202015-2030%20is%20nevertheless%20projected,the%20equivalent%20of%203%25%20of%20total%20agricultural%20land."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"(2023, November 08). FAO. Available online: https:\/\/www.fao.org\/fileadmin\/user_upload\/esag\/docs\/AT2050_revision_summary.pdf."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.1080\/14620316.1998.11511003","article-title":"Assessment of various control strategies for recirculation of greenhouse effluents under semi-arid conditions","volume":"73","author":"Raviv","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Hortic. Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dutta, M., Gupta, D., Sahu, S., Limkar, S., Singh, P., Mishra, A., and Mutlu, R. (2023). Evaluation of Growth Responses of Lettuce and Energy Efficiency of the Substrate and Smart Hydroponics Cropping System. Sensors, 23.","DOI":"10.3390\/s23041875"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"034032","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-9326\/7\/3\/034032","article-title":"Climate change impacts on crop productivity in Africa and South Asia","volume":"7","author":"Knox","year":"2012","journal-title":"Environ. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"86","article-title":"Application of biostimulants in floating system for improving rocket quality","volume":"3","author":"Vernieri","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113730","DOI":"10.1016\/j.indcrop.2021.113730","article-title":"Ozone as eustress for enhancing secondarymetabolites and bioactive properties in Salvia officinalis","volume":"170","author":"Marchica","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ind. Prod."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brezeanu, C., Brezeanu, P.M., Stoleru, V., Irimia, L.M., Lip\u0219a, F.D., Teliban, G.C., and Murariu, O.C. (2022). Nutritional value of new sweet pepper genotypes grown in organic system. Agriculture, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/agriculture12111863"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaap.2018.09.008","article-title":"Production, prospects and potential application of pyroligneous acid in agriculture","volume":"135","author":"Grewal","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vannini, A., Fedeli, R., Guarnieri, M., and Loppi, S. (2022). Foliar Application of Wood Distillate Alleviates Ozone-Induced Damage in Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.). Toxics, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics10040178"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.1080\/01904167.2014.992539","article-title":"Effects of adding wood vinegar to nutrient solution on the growth, photosynthesis, and absorption of mineral elements of hydroponic lettuce","volume":"39","author":"Chen","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Plant Nutr."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.2478\/johr-2019-0004","article-title":"Hydroponic pH modifiers affect plant growth and nutrient content in leafy greens","volume":"27","author":"Singh","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Hortic. Res."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"012149","article-title":"Effect of adding biochar with wood vinegar on the growth of cucumber","volume":"Volume 61","author":"Pan","year":"2017","journal-title":"IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Energy Materials and Environment Engineering, Bangkok, Thailand, 10\u201312 March 2017"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaap.2009.09.006","article-title":"Preparation, chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of pyroligneous acids from walnut tree branches","volume":"87","author":"Wei","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1111\/aab.12794","article-title":"Foliar application of wood distillate boosts plant yield and nutritional parameters of chickpea","volume":"182","author":"Fedeli","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann. Appl. Biol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fedeli, R., Vannini, A., Guarnieri, M., Monaci, F., and Loppi, S. (2022). Bio-based solutions for agriculture: Foliar application of wood distillate alone and in combination with other plant-derived corroborants results in different effects on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Biology, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/biology11030404"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1111\/aab.12837","article-title":"Wood distillate (pyroligneous acid) boosts nutritional traits of potato tubers","volume":"183","author":"Fedeli","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann. Appl. Biol."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"371","article-title":"Potential of wood vinegar for enhancing seed germination of three upland rice varieties by suppressing malondialdehyde production","volume":"40","author":"Dissatian","year":"2018","journal-title":"AGRIVITA J. Agric. Sci."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2013.02.020","article-title":"Wood vinegar and fermented bioextracts: Natural products to enhance growth and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)","volume":"154","author":"Mungkunkamchao","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, Y., Qiu, L., Song, Q., Wang, S., Wang, Y., and Ge, Y. (2019). Root proteomics reveals the effects of wood vinegar on wheat growth and subsequent tolerance to drought stress. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 20.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms20040943"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fedeli, R., Fiaschi, T., Angiolini, C., Maccherini, S., Loppi, S., and Fanfarillo, E. (2023). Dose-Dependent and Species-Specific Effects of Wood Distillate Addition on the Germination Performance of Threatened Arable Plants. Plants, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants12173028"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maresca, V., Fedeli, R., Vannini, A., Munzi, S., Corr\u00eaa, A., Cruz, C., and Loppi, S. (2024). Wood distillate enhances seed germination of chickpea, lettuce, and basil. Appl. Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/app14020631"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"616","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoenv.2019.05.058","article-title":"The evaluation of the potential ecotoxicity of pyroligneous acid obtained from fast pyrolysis","volume":"180","author":"Mendes","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5324","DOI":"10.1111\/1750-3841.16829","article-title":"Nutritionally-enriched tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown with wood distillate: Chemical and biological characterization for quality assessment","volume":"88","author":"Fedeli","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ofoe, R., Qin, D., Gunupuru, L.R., Thomas, R.H., and Abbey, L. (2022). Effect of pyroligneous acid on the productivity and nutritional quality of greenhouse tomato. Plants, 11.","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.4027336"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Admane, N., Cavallo, G., Hadjila, C., Cavalluzzi, M.M., Rotondo, N.P., Salerno, A., and Sanzani, S.M. (2023). Biostimulant Formulations and Moringa oleifera Extracts to Improve Yield, Quality, and Storability of Hydroponic Lettuce. Molecules, 28.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules28010373"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Trevisan, S., Manoli, A., and Quaggiotti, S. (2019). A novel biostimulant, belonging to protein hydrolysates, mitigates abiotic stress effects on maize seedlings grown in hydroponics. Agronomy, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy9010028"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kalozoumis, P., Vourdas, C., Ntatsi, G., and Savvas, D. (2021). Can Biostimulants Increase Resilience of Hydroponically-Grown Tomato to Combined Water and Nutrient Stress?. Horticulturae, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/horticulturae7090297"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lobanov, V., Keesman, K.J., and Joyce, A. (2021). Plants dictate root microbial composition in hydroponics and aquaponics. Front. Microbiol., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2022.848057"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13541","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules190913541","article-title":"Elicitation: A tool for enriching the bioactive composition of foods","volume":"19","author":"Baenas","year":"2014","journal-title":"Molecules"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hasanuzzaman, M., Bhuyan, M., Anee, T.I., Parvin, K., Nahar, K., Mahmud, J.A., and Fujita, M. (2019). Regulation of ascorbate-glutathione pathway in mitigating oxidative damage in plants under abiotic stress. Antioxidants, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/antiox8090384"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.2174\/187231309787158271","article-title":"Reactive oxygen species, cancer and anti-cancer therapies","volume":"3","author":"Manda","year":"2009","journal-title":"Curr. Chem. Biol."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barreca, D. (2020). Mechanisms of plant antioxidants action. Plants, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants10010035"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"651","DOI":"10.1007\/s00204-020-02689-3","article-title":"Antioxidants and antioxidant methods: An updated overview","volume":"94","author":"Gulcin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Arch. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"821628","DOI":"10.3389\/fenvs.2022.821628","article-title":"Improving Sustainable Field-Grown Wheat Production with Azospirillum brasilense Under Tropical Conditions: A Potential Tool for Improving Nitrogen Management","volume":"10","author":"Galindo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aryal, S., Baniya, M.K., Danekhu, K., Kunwar, P., Gurung, R., and Koirala, N. (2019). Total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant potential of wild vegetables from Western Nepal. Plants, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants8040096"},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"Chedea, V.S., and Pop, R.M. (2019). Polyphenols in Plants, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"950","DOI":"10.3390\/i8090950","article-title":"Dietary polyphenols and their biological significance","volume":"8","author":"Han","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Mol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"704","DOI":"10.7732\/kjpr.2016.29.6.704","article-title":"Potential of wood vinegar in enhancing fruit yield and antioxidant capacity in tomato","volume":"29","author":"Benzon","year":"2016","journal-title":"Korean J. Plant Resour."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4592","DOI":"10.1021\/jf405589f","article-title":"Polyphenols in strawberry (Fragaria\u00d7 ananassa) leaves induced by plant activators","volume":"62","author":"Salminen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1068","DOI":"10.1007\/s00425-005-0155-2","article-title":"How does glutamine synthetase activity determine plant tolerance to ammonium?","volume":"223","author":"Cruz","year":"2006","journal-title":"Planta"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166484","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2023.166484","article-title":"Exploring sustainable alternatives: Wood distillate alleviates the impact of bioplastic in basil plants","volume":"900","author":"Celletti","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_51","unstructured":"(2023, December 01). BioDea. Available online: https:\/\/biodea.bio\/bio-wood-distillate\/?lang=en."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"F4.3.1","DOI":"10.1002\/0471142913.faf0403s01","article-title":"Chlorophylls and carotenoids: Measurement and characterization by UV-VIS spectroscopy","volume":"1","author":"Lichtenthaler","year":"2001","journal-title":"Curr. Protoc. Food Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sunkar, R. (2010). Plant stress tolerance. Methods Mol. Biol., 639.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-60761-702-0"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fedeli, R., Celletti, S., Loppi, S., and Vannini, A. (2023). Comparison of the Effect of Solid and Liquid Digestate on the Growth of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Plants. Agronomy, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy13030782"},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lamaro, G.P., Tsehaye, Y., Girma, A., Vannini, A., Fedeli, R., and Loppi, S. (2023). Evaluation of Yield and Nutraceutical Traits of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Storage Roots in Two Agro-Climatic Zones of Northern Ethiopia. Plants, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants12061319"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3053","DOI":"10.1021\/jf049001r","article-title":"Rapid tests to assess the antioxidant activity of Phaseolus vulgaris L. dry beans","volume":"53","author":"Heimler","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_57","unstructured":"Anderson, M. (2008). PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: Guide to Software and Statistical Methods, Primer-E Limited."},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"Clarke, K.R., and Gorley, R.N. (2006). PRIMER v6: USersManual\/Tutorial PRIMER-E, Plymouth Marine Laboratory."}],"container-title":["Plants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/13\/3\/447\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T13:54:21Z","timestamp":1760104461000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/13\/3\/447"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,3]]},"references-count":58,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2]]}},"alternative-id":["plants13030447"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/plants13030447","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-7747"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-7747","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,3]]}}}