Microwave Field Effect on Polyphenolic Compounds from Aromatic Plants

Nowadays, the use of mobile telephony and wire-less devices has become more demanding, generating electromagnetic radiations. Microwave radiation can affect the growth rate of plants. For this study, the aromatic plants i.e. parsley, celery, dill, basil, were chosen as irradiated plants. This study aims to investigate the effects of irradiation with microwave field on polyphenolic compounds from basil, celery and parsley. The extracts were obtained by sonication. Quantitative analysis of polyphenolic compounds was performed by high performance liquid chromatography using an Altima C18 column. The elution was performed in gradient, with acetonitrile (eluent A) and formic acid in water (1%, eluent B). It was observed that in the irradiated plants, the content of polyphenolic compounds was higher than in the controlled plant. This finding suggests that that plants were strongly influenced by stress due to electromagnetic fields.