Hirokazu Kobayashi
CEO, Green Insight Japan, Inc.
Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor, University of Shizuoka
Blue light is not suitable for the human eye. Blue light is even more harmful when it contains high energy and ultraviolet light. Sunglasses are recommended in strong sunlight because damage to the eye's retina can be challenging to repair. Intense blue light is also harmful to plants. However, natural plants are constantly exposed to environmental factors such as sunlight and have evolved to avoid or take advantage of the influence. Their growth is influenced by light intensity, temperature, and rainfall, and when these conditions are met, high-quality crops produce high yields. However, a good crop often results in low prices, which should be a mixed bag for growers. On the other hand, there are also examples of increasing the added value of agricultural products by artificially changing environmental factors. Some examples of plants with unique growing requirements are electric chrysanthemums that bloom by controlling the period of light illumination, tea leaves that are used to make Gyokuro and Matcha and are grown under shade, Wasabi that require clean running water, and stone-wall strawberries in Shizuka City grown out of season. On the exciting side, several papers have been published since 1962 on the effects of music on plants. Healing music encourages plants to grow, and rock seems to do the opposite. I was once asked for my opinion as a scientist on the topic of classical music being played on the lawn of Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture. When a mechanism for a phenomenon is discovered in plant science, it is finally accepted as a fact. Sound is transmitted to the leaves as air vibrations. The mechanism by which plants sense contact with leaves has been elucidated, and it is predicted that a similar mechanism may be involved in sound effects.
Short wavelength light, typified by ultraviolet light, causes damage to living cells, including humans, such as DNA breaks. To avoid this, when plants are exposed to shorter-wavelength blue light, they accumulate polyphenols that have antioxidant activity. These polyphenols, when taken orally by humans, have the potential to prevent and improve lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, and cancer. We discovered that when broccoli sprouts were irradiated with blue light, the polyphenol content increased threefold, and they filed three patent applications. This exciting discovery could pave the way for new health benefits and commercial opportunities, contributing to society in a significant way.
