Wild edible fool’s watercress, a potential crop with high nutraceutical properties

PeerJ

article

Carla Guijarro-Real¹  Jaime Prohens¹  Adrian Rodriguez-Burruezo¹  Ana María Adalid-Martínez¹  M Pilar López-Gresa²  Ana Fita¹ 

[1] Instituto de Conservación y Mejora de la Agrodiversidad Valenciana ,(COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València;Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas ,(IBMCP), Universitat Politècnica de València

关键词: Antioxidants;    Apium nodiflorum;    DPPH;    New crops;    Total phenolics;    Quercetin;    Wild edible plants;    Flavonoids;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6296

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFool’s watercress (Apium nodiflorum) is an edible vegetable with potential as a new crop. However, little information is available regarding the antioxidant properties of the plant and the individual phenolics accounting for this capacity are unknown.MethodsThe antioxidant properties of twenty-five wild populations were analysed and individual phenolics present in the species reported and compared with celery and parsley. The antioxidant activity was measured as the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging capacity, and the total phenolics content (TPC) via the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. The individual phenolics constituents were determined via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as aglycones.ResultsThe average DPPH and TPC of fool’s watercress were 28.1 mg Trolox g−1 DW and 22.3 mg of chlorogenic acid equivalents g−1 DW, respectively, much higher than those of celery and parsley. Significant differences for both DPPH and TPC, which may be explained by either genotype or environmental factors, were detected among groups established according to geographical origin. Quercetin was identified as the major phenolic present in the leaves of the species, unlike parsley and celery, in which high amounts of apigenin and luteolin were determined. Quercetin represented 61.6% of the phenolics targeted in fool’s watercress, followed by caffeic acid derivatives as main hydroxycinnamic acids.DiscussionThe study reports the high antioxidant properties of fool’s watercress based on a large number of populations. Results suggest that quercetin accounts for an important share of the antioxidant capacity of this potential new crop. The study also provides a basis for future breeding programs, suggesting that selection by geographical locations may result in differences in the antioxidant properties.

【 授权许可】

CC BY