Biostimulants: Beyond Origins
Climate change is a critical and limiting factor that threatens the entire global agricultural production system and especially crop yields. The use of biostimulants in agriculture has shown to have enormous potential to combat phenomena such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, etc. enhanced by the climate crisis (1-3).
During the last two decades, the market presence of biostimulants based on amino acids has experienced strong growth. Globally, products based on hydrolyzed proteins, a source of amino acids, represent the third category of biostimulants by market size after algae extracts and humic substances.
Biostimulants based on hydrolyzed proteins (PH) are produced from co-products of animal or plant origin, promoting the circular economy, and following the strategy defined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
On the other hand, these hydrolysates can be obtained by chemical, thermal or enzymatic hydrolysis or a combination of these. The method of obtaining and the origin of the protein are key and independent factors (4) for the final quality of the biostimulant product.
For example, while an enzymatic hydrolysis process preserves the biologically active forms, the L-α-amino acids (5-6), chemical hydrolysis tends to leave residues such as sodium, sulfates and chlorides, to destroy relevant amino acids such as the Tryptophan precursor. of auxins (7) and to convert L-α-amino acids into their D-racemic form (8-9). Both the mentioned residues and D-amino acids can cause unwanted side effects for crops (10).
In addition to the impact they have on quality parameters, enzymatic hydrolysis is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly process (11) when compared to chemical hydrolysis, whether acidic or basic.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the perception has spread that biostimulants based on hydrolyzed animal protein have a series of disadvantages compared to biostimulants of plant origin.
However, when the current literature on this topic is exhaustively analyzed, it is observed that in many articles (12-16) animal origin is erroneously related to chemical hydrolysis and plant origin to enzymatic hydrolysis and therefore consequently with all the benefits associated with this method of obtaining.
However, Bioiberica's biostimulants based on animal protein hydrolysates are produced by enzymatic hydrolysis (17-20) and, what is more, a large part of the biostimulants based on plant protein present on the market come from aggressive chemical hydrolysis, processes necessary to improve its solubility and to eliminate growth-inhibiting factors that affect its biostimulant activity (21).
Thus, biostimulants obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis are a category of biostimulants that are characterized by containing mixtures of polypeptides, oligopeptides and L-α-amino acids from organic materials with a high protein content of high biological value and that have demonstrated their effectiveness. on multiple physiological processes, including photosynthetic activity, nutrient assimilation and translocation, and quality parameters, as well as soil health and crop production performance (22-24).
Bibliographic References
(1) Bhupenchandra, I.; Chongtham, S. K.; Devi, E. L.; R., R.; Choudhary, A. K.; Salam, M. D.; Sahoo, M. R.; Bhutia, T. L.; Devi, S. H.; Thounaojam, A. S.; Behera, C.; M. N., Harish.; Kumar, A.; Dasgupta, M.; Devi, Y. P.; Singh, D.; Bhagowati, S.; Devi, C. P.; Singh, H. R.; Khaba, C. I. Role of Biostimulants in Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on Crop Performance. Front. Plant Sci. 2022, 13, 967665. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.967665.
(2) Bhupenchandra, I. Role of Biostimulants in Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on Crop Performance. Frontiers in Plant Science 19. nt. Plant Sci. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.967665/full
(3) Sangiorgio, D.; Cellini, A.; Donati, I.; Pastore, C.; Onofrietti, C.; Spinelli, F. Facing Climate Change: Application of Microbial Biostimulants to Mitigate Stress in Horticultural Crops. Agronomy 2020, 10 (6), 794. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10060794.
(4) Carillo, P.; Pannico, A.; Cirillo, C.; Ciriello, M.; Colla, G.; Cardarelli, M.; De Pascale, S.; Rouphael, Y. Protein Hydrolysates from Animal or Vegetal Sources Affect Morpho-Physiological Traits, Ornamental Quality, Mineral Composition, and Shelf-Life of Chrysanthemum in a Distinctive Manner. Plants 2022, 11 (17), 2321. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11172321.
(5) Sierras, N.; Botta, A.; Staasing, L.; Martinez, M. J.; Bru, R. Understanding the Effect of Amino Acids Based Biostimulant by an Enantiomeric Analysis of Their Active Principles and a Proteomic Profiling Approach. In Acta Horticulturae; International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), Leuven, Belgium, 2016; pp 93–100. https://www.actahort.org/books/1148/1148_11.htm
(6) Sánchez-Hernández, L.; Serra, N. S.; Marina, M. L.; Crego, A. L. Enantiomeric Separation of Free l - and d -Amino Acids in Hydrolyzed Protein Fertilizers by Capillary Electrophoresis Tandem Mass Spectrometry. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2013, 61 (21), 5022–5030. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf4013345.
(7) Cristiano, G.; Pallozzi, E.; Conversa, G.; Tufarelli, V.; De Lucia, B. Effects of an Animal-Derived Biostimulant on the Growth and Physiological Parameters of Potted Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus L.). Front. Plant Sci. 2018, 9, 861. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00861.
(8) Liardon, R.; Jost, R. Racemization of Free and Protein-Bound Amino Acids in Strong Mineral Acid. International Journal of Peptide and Protein Research 1981, 18 (5), 500–505. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3011.1981.tb03012.x.
(9) Liardon, R.; Hurrell, R. F. Amino Acid Racemization in Heated and Alkali-Treated Proteins. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1983, 31 (2), 432–437. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf00116a062.
(10) Forsum, O.; Svennerstam, H.; Ganeteg, U.; Näsholm, T. Capacities and Constraints of Amino Acid Utilization in Arabidopsis. New Phytologist 2008, 179 (4), 1058–1069. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02546.x
(11) Colantoni, A.; Recchia, L.; Bernabei, G.; Cardarelli, M.; Rouphael, Y.; Colla, G. Analyzing the Environmental Impact of Chemically Produced Protein Hydrolysate from Leather Waste vs. Enzymatically Produced Protein Hydrolysate from Legume Grains. Agriculture 2017, 7 (8), 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture7080062.
(12) Consentino, B. B.; Virga, G.; La Placa, G. G.; Sabatino, L.; Rouphael, Y.; Ntatsi, G.; Iapichino, G.; La Bella, S.; Mauro, R. P.; D’Anna, F.; Tuttolomondo, T.; De Pasquale, C. Celery (Apium Graveolens L.) Performances as Subjected to Different Sources of Protein Hydrolysates. Plants 2020, 9 (12), 1633. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9121633.
(13) Malécange, M.; Sergheraert, R.; Teulat, B.; Mounier, E.; Lothier, J.; Sakr, S. Biostimulant Properties of Protein Hydrolysates: Recent Advances and Future Challenges. IJMS 2023, 24 (11), 9714. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24119714.
(14) Choi, S.; Colla, G.; Cardarelli, M.; Kim, H.-J. Effects of Plant-Derived Protein Hydrolysates on Yield, Quality, and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Greenhouse Grown Lettuce and Tomato. Agronomy 2022, 12 (5), 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12051018.
(15) Carillo, P.; Pannico, A.; Cirillo, C.; Ciriello, M.; Colla, G.; Cardarelli, M.; De Pascale, S.; Rouphael, Y. Protein Hydrolysates from Animal or Vegetal Sources Affect Morpho-Physiological Traits, Ornamental Quality, Mineral Composition, and Shelf-Life of Chrysanthemum in a Distinctive Manner. Plants 2022, 11 (17), 2321. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11172321.
(16) Rouphael, Y.; Carillo, P.; Cristofano, F.; Cardarelli, M.; Colla, G. Effects of Vegetal- versus Animal-Derived Protein Hydrolysate on Sweet Basil Morpho-Physiological and Metabolic Traits. Scientia Horticulturae 2021, 284, https://doi.org/110123. 10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110123
(17) Cristiano, G.; Pallozzi, E.; Conversa, G.; Tufarelli, V.; De Lucia, B. Effects of an Animal-Derived Biostimulant on the Growth and Physiological Parameters of Potted Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus L.). Front. Plant Sci. 2018, 9, 861. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00861.
(18) Polo, J.; Mata, P. Evaluation of a Biostimulant (Pepton) Based in Enzymatic Hydrolyzed Animal Protein in Comparison to Seaweed Extracts on Root Development, Vegetative Growth, Flowering, and Yield of Gold Cherry Tomatoes Grown under Low Stress Ambient Field Conditions. Front. Plant Sci. 2018, 8, 2261. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.02261.
(19) Casadesús, A.; Polo, J.; Munné-Bosch, S. Hormonal Effects of an Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Animal Protein-Based Biostimulant (Pepton) in Water-Stressed Tomato Plants. Front. Plant Sci. 2019, 10, 758. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00758.
(20) Casadesús, A.; Pérez-Llorca, M.; Munné-Bosch, S.; Polo, J. An Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Animal Protein-Based Biostimulant (Pepton) Increases Salicylic Acid and Promotes Growth of Tomato Roots Under Temperature and Nutrient Stress. Front. Plant Sci. 2020, 11, 953. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00953.
(21) Jain, B. M.; Badve, M. P. A Novel Process for Synthesis of Soybean Protein Hydrolysates and Study of Its Effectiveness as a Biostimulant and Emulsifier. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification 2022, 174, 108880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2022.108880.
(22) Navarro‐León, E.; López‐Moreno, F. J.; Borda, E.; Marín, C.; Sierras, N.; Blasco, B.; Ruiz, J. M. Effect of l ‐amino Acid‐based Biostimulants on Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) in Lettuce Plants. J Sci Food Agric 2022, jsfa.12071. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.12071.
(23) Navarro-León, E.; Borda, E.; Marín, C.; Sierras, N.; Blasco, B.; Ruiz, J. M. Application of an Enzymatic Hydrolyzed L-α-Amino Acid Based Biostimulant to Improve Sunflower Tolerance to Imazamox. Plants 2022, 11 (20), 2761. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11202761.
(24) Acin-Albiac, M.; García-Jiménez, B.; Marín Garrido, C.; Borda Casas, E.; Velasco-Alvarez, J.; Serra, N. S.; Acedo, A. Lettuce Soil Microbiome Modulated by an L-Α-Amino Acid-Based Biostimulant. Agriculture 2023, 13 (2), 344. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020344.