AUTHOR=Lee Hyeonbyeong , Baek Jeonghyun , Im Donghyuk , Heo Jeongwook , Kim Taehyun 
  
TITLE=Integrated Smart Farm System for Centella asiatica L. Cultivation: Development and Assessment of Multi-tier Cultivation Effects on Bioactive Compound Production
  
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science
  
VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025
  
YEAR=2025
  
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1646310
  
DOI=10.3389/fpls.2025.1646310
  
ISSN=1664-462X
  
ABSTRACT=Traditional soil-based cultivation of Centella asiatica L. faces seasonal limitations and quality inconsistency. This study developed and assessed a smart farm system incorporating Deep Flow Technique (DFT) hydroponics for stable, year-round production with consistent bioactive compound profiles. System development was conducted at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, followed by six-month field assessment at Chungju Agricultural Technology Center, South Korea. The cultivation system comprised a 99 m² greenhouse with 19.2 m² active hydroponic area, maintaining nutrient solution temperature at 20 ± 1°C, EC at 0.9 ± 0.1 dS/m, pH at 5.6 ± 0.2, and light intensity at 90–95 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. We observed differential bioactive compound accumulation between cultivation tiers; however, these differences reflect combined effects of tier positioning and environmental variations rather than isolated lighting effects due to inherent confounding in our multi-tier design. Madecassic acid content was 2.3-fold higher in LED-equipped tier (1.25 ± 0.04 mg/g) versus fluorescent-equipped tier (0.54 ± 0.03 mg/g, p<0.001). The system demonstrated operational reliability, enabling year-round production and establishing a technological foundation for controlled environment medicinal plant cultivation with standardized compound profiles.