Electricity discharges to produce more

2008/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Nekazaritza

When plants are exposed to stress, they often put in place defense mechanisms that, among other things, increase the production of chemical compounds to protect themselves. Some of these compounds have a pharmacological or commercial value. Well, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona has managed to increase the production of these compounds in certain plants due to a discharge of 30 milliamps. It was tested in eight plant species, and seven out of eight obtained the expected result. The average production of compounds multiplied by twenty, but it was also superior: a type of alfalfa produced 168 times more.