Preservation +
The U.S. market for cut flowers is currently valued at $6 billion per year, and the global market is expected to reach nearly $44 billion over the next six years. Several scientific studies clearly demonstrate the benefits of hydrogen-rich water on post-harvest cut plants and cut flower preservation.
How does HyO
enhance bio-preservation?
We ran several tests with two wholesale florist operations: the results were astonishing! The implications of these initial tests further validate management’s belief in the significance of HyO Technologies’ hydrogen water being used within the flower industry – not only to increase the shelf life of cut flowers but to dramatically reduce spoilage waste across the entire industry vertical.
Most wholesale florists are accustomed to using cold storage for handling cut flowers whether they are imported or grown locally. Stems are held in a cold storage unit at approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit for up to one week. Furthermore, wholesale florists typically experience spoilage of inbound stems at a rate of 5%-15%. Together, these have a significant negative impact on cost and global warming potential associated with each flower sold. Molecular hydrogen can naturally regulate the biological activity of plant blossoms, improving the ability for cut flowers to uptake and store water, reducing respiration intensity, and preventing or even reversing dehydration as evidenced by the results of the tests. Research published in Journal Food Chemistry, as well as dozens of published Academic studies, shows hydrogen reduces the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and increases the activity of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that helps break down potentially harmful oxygen molecules in cells and tissue.
We performed dozens of trials on a wide variety of cut flowers (stems), following the below protocols:
1. HyO water ( tap water run with HyO) vs Control (typical preservatives added to tap water) in vases, then both were put in a cooler at 40 degrees.
2. The same protocols as above, except the HyO watered cut flowers were not put in a cooler, but remained in temperatures at 70 degrees or below.
Under both scenarios above, all flowers tested lasted significantly longer in HyO water, suggesting preservatives and coolers set at 40 degrees, may no longer be needed.
