167
DOI: 10.1201/9780429440939-17
15
Fluorescence Excitation
Spectroscopy ( FES) to
Evaluate the Farming System’s
Impact on Food Quality
Jenifer Wohlers, Peter Stolz and Gudrun Mende
Forschungsinstitut KWALIS gGmbH
Jürgen Strube ( in Memoriam)
INTRODUCTION
Fluorescence Excitation Spectroscopy ( FES) was developed by J. Strube in the 1980s and 1990s
based on the investigations of F.A. Popp ( 1984, 2013). Popp used the term ‘ biophotons’ for photons
which were emitted by organisms at a very low intensity ( ultra-low) and invisible to the human eye.
Photons themselves are countable units of light, physically detectable as particles. Popp evaluated
the relation between these ultra-low photon emissions – or biophotons – and human health, especially in relation to carcinogenic diseases and the quality of foodstuffs from organic farming. The
inspiration for his research was provided by Gurwitsch ( e.g. Gurwitsch and Gurwitsch, 1932) who,
as a biologist and medical scientist, was interested in growth-stimulating effects. In his experiments
on onion roots and yeast cultures, Gurwitsch found that mitosis ( cell division giving rise to genetically identical cells) was encouraged by neighbouring root tips. He concluded that growing or living
organisms emit light – which he named ‘ mitogenetic radiation’ – which influences other organisms. Nowadays this is named ‘ ultra-weak photon emission’ ( UWPE) or ‘ ultra-low photon emission’ ( ULPE) and is used to describe a very weak emission of light, in wavelengths of the visible
and ultraviolet light. It is now known that coloured light ( special wavelengths) stimulates specific
metabolic pathways in plants and humans, resulting ( in the case of plants) in flowering, growing or
ripening ( Eichhorn Bilodeau et al., 2019; Monostori et al., 2018), or ( in humans) in higher levels of
alertness or fatigue ( Askaripoor et al., 2018; Bauer et al., 2018; Rahman et al., 2017).
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 167
The Method of FES Measurements ............................................................................................... 168
Effects of Farming Systems on Food Quality, Measured by FES .................................................. 168
1) Wheat from the ‘ DOC-Trial’ Field Experiment ............................................................. 169
2) Apple Quality: Maturation and Growing Conditions ..................................................... 170
3) Emission Spectrums as Dependent on the Type of Sample and the Sample State ......... 172
4) Cocoa Beans Grown in Monocultures or in Agroforestry Systems ............................... 173
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 174
References ...................................................................................................................................... 175
DOI: 10.1201/9780429440939-17
15
Fluorescence Excitation
Spectroscopy ( FES) to
Evaluate the Farming System’s
Impact on Food Quality
Jenifer Wohlers, Peter Stolz and Gudrun Mende
Forschungsinstitut KWALIS gGmbH
Jürgen Strube ( in Memoriam)
INTRODUCTION
Fluorescence Excitation Spectroscopy ( FES) was developed by J. Strube in the 1980s and 1990s
based on the investigations of F.A. Popp ( 1984, 2013). Popp used the term ‘ biophotons’ for photons
which were emitted by organisms at a very low intensity ( ultra-low) and invisible to the human eye.
Photons themselves are countable units of light, physically detectable as particles. Popp evaluated
the relation between these ultra-low photon emissions – or biophotons – and human health, especially in relation to carcinogenic diseases and the quality of foodstuffs from organic farming. The
inspiration for his research was provided by Gurwitsch ( e.g. Gurwitsch and Gurwitsch, 1932) who,
as a biologist and medical scientist, was interested in growth-stimulating effects. In his experiments
on onion roots and yeast cultures, Gurwitsch found that mitosis ( cell division giving rise to genetically identical cells) was encouraged by neighbouring root tips. He concluded that growing or living
organisms emit light – which he named ‘ mitogenetic radiation’ – which influences other organisms. Nowadays this is named ‘ ultra-weak photon emission’ ( UWPE) or ‘ ultra-low photon emission’ ( ULPE) and is used to describe a very weak emission of light, in wavelengths of the visible
and ultraviolet light. It is now known that coloured light ( special wavelengths) stimulates specific
metabolic pathways in plants and humans, resulting ( in the case of plants) in flowering, growing or
ripening ( Eichhorn Bilodeau et al., 2019; Monostori et al., 2018), or ( in humans) in higher levels of
alertness or fatigue ( Askaripoor et al., 2018; Bauer et al., 2018; Rahman et al., 2017).
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 167
The Method of FES Measurements ............................................................................................... 168
Effects of Farming Systems on Food Quality, Measured by FES .................................................. 168
1) Wheat from the ‘ DOC-Trial’ Field Experiment ............................................................. 169
2) Apple Quality: Maturation and Growing Conditions ..................................................... 170
3) Emission Spectrums as Dependent on the Type of Sample and the Sample State ......... 172
4) Cocoa Beans Grown in Monocultures or in Agroforestry Systems ............................... 173
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 174
References ...................................................................................................................................... 175