83 research outputs found
Engagement of light stress and osmotic stress o steviol glycosides biosynthesis and accumulation in hairy roots from Stevia reabudiana Bertoni. Michalec-Warzecha Zaneta, Zastawny Olga Pistelli Laura, Ruffoni Barbara, Dziurka Michal, Libik-Konieczny Marta,
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Analytical methods for the extraction and identification of secondary metabolite production in 'in vitro' plant cell cultures
No full textThe production of plant secondary metabolites by in vitro culture is one of the most challenging
and thrilling field of recent scientific researches. In the few last years, pharmaceutical and food
industry demand in phytochemicals has increased steadily. Therefore, the establishment of in
vitro plant protocols has to be monitored by phytochemical investigation of their selected extracts in
order to supply standardized raw material. In this chapter, the advantages and disadvantages of some
modern techniques have been described for the sampling, extraction and analysis of the in vitro plants
and derivatives. Depending on the volatile or nonvolatile substances produced by in vitro plant raw
material, different kinds of laboratory facilities are needed for the extraction and quali‐quantitative
analysis. Recent extraction technology such as Accelerated Solvent Extraction or Microwave Assisted
Extraction in combination with hyphenated techniques such as Gas Chromathography‐Mass
Spectrometry (GC‐MS) and Liquid Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (LC‐MS) represent a
modern approach to perform fast and reproducible analytical methods for the quality control of
secondary metabolite production in ‘in vitro’ plant materia
Evaluation of In Vitro Regeneration Aptitude Through Histological Detection in Ocimum basilicum L
No full textSweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the most well-known aromatic herbs, which are
economically important for food and pharmaceutical purposes. In vitro regeneration protocols
are a fundamental part of molecular approaches, such as genome editing, which are
used to enhance crop quality and pathogen resistance. In this research, in vitro regeneration
methods were developed to examine the morphogenic aptitude of four different explant
types from five commercial cvs of Ocimum basilicum L. (‘Prospera’, ‘Paoletto’, ‘Italiko FT’,
‘Dark opal’, and ‘Bolloso napoletano’). ‘Prospera’ showed the highest direct regeneration
efficiency in all of the explant types (100% in the roots, 36% ± 0.02 in the cotyledons,
7.5% ± 0.2 in the hypocotyls, and 50% ± 0.04 in the cotyledonary nodes). The roots were
found to be the most effective explant type, producing nodule-like meristems (100% in
‘Prospera’ and ‘FT Italiko’, 95.24% ± 0.01 in ‘Bolloso napoletano’), as precursors of shoots.
Histological analysis was confirmed to be a suitable method to detect meristematic activity
during the early morphogenic process and to evaluate the explants’ regeneration potential
In vitro culture of plants for the new chain of edible flowers
No full textThe crisis that the floriculture sector has had in recent years has led to a re-orientation of many small and medium farms on species suitable for alternative markets while maintaining the same type of production. This process has recently successfully involved aromatic plants and is starting to involve those edible species that are positioned on the food market both in the tradition and in the cuisine of innovation. Edible flowers, in addition to their intrinsic decorative value, have important nutritional characteristics that must be well defined and valued. The Interreg Alcotra ANTEA project was created with the aim of reinforcing the emerging chain of edible flowers through the application of innovation in production and analysis methods and in the assessment of the safety of use, conservation and distribution strategies. The edible flower chain brings with it the added value of being a productive activity that is born linked to organic and sustainable cultivation and is therefore an economic activity that does not affect environmental costs. Furthermore, technological and communication innovations have been applied which guarantee immediacy and visibility between producer and consumer. Dissemination of the results to consumers and restaurateurs are essential
for the same purpose too. Indeed, the ensuring food safety will help to expand the range of restaurateurs who will begin to have a constant supply of many flowers with high quality
Bioactive Compounds and Aroma Profile of Some Lamiaceae Edible Flowers
No full textEdible flowers are consumed for their appearance, colours, nutritional and healthy
properties, but the use is limited by the actual number of the species. Seven edible flowers of the
Lamiaceae family (Ocimeae and Mentheae tribes) were investigated: Monarda didyma ‘Fireball’,
Nepeta × faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’, Ocimum basilicum ‘Blue Spice’, O. basilicum ‘Cinnamon’, Ocimum
× citriodorum, Salvia discolor, and Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’. Total soluble sugars, proteins,
polyphenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity were detected. The species of the
Mentheae tribe contained higher sugar content than Ocimeae flowers, the opposite with regard to
protein content. Ocimeae tribe flowers showed high polyphenols and carotenoids content. The
Ocimeae tribe together with two specie of the Mentheae tribe showed an aroma profile dominated
by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (58.0% in S. discolor to 77.9% in Ocimum × citriodorum). Oxygenated
monoterpenes prevailed in Nepeta and Monarda, also present in the essential oil of this latter species
(84.5%). By contrast, Nepeta and S. discolor evidenced non-terpenes as the principal class (41.2% and
77.5%, respectively), while the oxygenated sesquiterpene was the main one in S. microphylla. The
two varieties of Ocimum spp. showed oxygenated monoterpenes as the main class of volatiles
Phytonutritional Content and Aroma Profile Changes During Postharvest Storage of Edible Flowers
No full textEdible flowers are niche horticultural products, routinely used as cooking ingredients
in the food industry. Currently, new species are required with the aim of enlarging
the number of species with a long shelf-life, healthy nutraceutical compounds, and
new fragrance and tastes. Ageratum houstonianum Mill, Tagetes lemmonii A. Gray,
Salvia dorisiana Standl, and Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.) L’Hér “Lemon” were
selected for their different morphological characteristics and color. Fresh flowers were
analyzed to characterize their phytonutritional content and aroma profile. Postharvest
was determined up to 6 days of cold storage at 4C in transparent polypropylene
boxes. Visual quality and cellular membrane damage were observed. The relative
content of different antioxidant constituents (e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins,
ascorbic acid), nutritional compounds (soluble sugars, crude proteins), the antioxidant
scavenging activity, and the volatile profile were determined and correlated to the quality
of shelf-life of the different species. The yellow T. lemmonii freshly picked flowers showed
the highest ascorbic acid and flavonoids content, which was maintained during the
cold storage, as well as the best visual quality. Limited changes in metabolites were
detected in the light blue A. houstonianum during postharvest, although the visual
quality is severely compromised. Magenta S. dorisiana and light pink P. odoratissimum
showed similar changes in antioxidant constituents during cold storage. For the first
time, the volatile compounds have been identified in the four species. Sesquiterpene
hydrocarbons are the main class in fresh flowers of A. houstonianum, S. dorisiana,
and P. odoratissimum, while monoterpene hydrocarbons are abundant in T. lemmonii.
The cold storage influenced mainly P. odoratissimum and S. dorisiana flavor initially
dominated by the increase in total monoterpenes at 6 days, reaching a relative content
of 90%. Both A. houstonianum and T. lemmonii conserved the prevalence of the same
class of constituents in all the analyzed conditions, even though the cold storage
influenced the major compound abundance. On the basis of the results, T. lemmonii
was the most interesting species with the longest shelf-life due to its phytonutritional
and aromatic constituents. Results indicated the peculiar metabolic and physiological
attitude of flowers species to cold storage
In vitro cultures of Bituminaria bituminosa: pterocarpan, furanocoumarin and isoflavone production and cytotoxic activity evaluation
No full textBituminaria bituminosa L. is known for producing several compounds with considerable pharmaceutical interest, such as phenylpropanoids, furanocoumarins and pterocarpans. In vitro cultures of seedlings, shoots, and callus have been produced to obtain plant materials useful for the production of these metabolites. The secondary metabolite profile was evaluated by HPLC-DAD. The extracts of all the in vitro material contained the flavonoid daidzein, while plicatin B, erybraedin C and bitucarpin A were found only in the extracts of the in vitro shoots and in wild shoots. The furanocoumarins angelicin and psoralen were found in in vivo and in vitro plants, but in the callus were not detectable. The extracts were also tested for cytotoxic activity in HeLa cell culture; the highest level of cytotoxicity was found in in vitro shoot extracts
Essential oil composition and volatile profile of seven Helichrysum species grown in Italy
No full textHelichrysum genus consists of about 600 species widespread throughout the world, especially in South Africa and
in the Mediterranean area. In this study the aroma profile (HS-SPME) and the EO compositions of seven Helichrysum
species (H. cymosum, H. odoratissimum, H. petiolare, H. fontanesii, H. saxatile, H. sanguineum, and H. tenax) were
evaluated. All the plants were grown in Italy under the same growth conditions. The volatile constituents, particularly
monoterpenes, depended by the plant’s genotype and ecological adaptation. This study represents the first
headspace evaluation on the selected plants and the results evidenced that monoterpenes represented the main
class of constituents in five of the seven species analysed (from 59.2% to 95.0%). The higher content in
sesquiterpene hydrocarbons was observed in the Mediterranean species of H. sanguineum (68.0%). Only H. saxatile
showed relative similar abundance of monoterpenes and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. The essential oil composition
of the majority of examined species are characterised by high percentage of sesquiterpenes (especially
b-caryophyllene and d-cadinene) ranging from 51.3% to 92.0%, except for H. cymosum, H. tenax, and H. sanguineum
leaves where monoterpenes predominated (from 51.7% to 74.7%)
Strategies for optimization of the production of rosmarinic acid in Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia dolomitica Codd biomass with several biotechnological approaches
No full textRosmarinic acid (RA) is a caffeic acid ester widely used by pharmaceutical and food industry. Its presence in several medicinal plant species and herb has been correlated with their biological activities and health beneficial effects. RA is widely used as additive to preserve foods, and because the chemical synthesis, even possible, remains time consuming and cost inefficient, there is a growing interest in development of biotechnological strategies to produce this compound. RA is abundant within the Lamiaceae family, particularly in plants belonging to genus Salvia. The use of plant tissues and cell cultures may represent an alternative strategy for the production of highly valuable plant metabolites and could be even adopted by pharmaceutical industries to develop new drugs and formulations. Protocols for shoots and calli regeneration, as well as cell cultures have been already established for Salvia officinalis and Salvia dolomitica with the aim to evaluate the content of RA in various tissues at different growth conditions. In particular, S. dolomitica Codd has been shown to be a good model for tissue culture studies due to its flexible propagation under in vitro conditions. The hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase, SoHPPR, gene encoding a hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase, a key biosynthetic enzyme of RA pathway, has been characterized in cell cultures of S. officinalis, representing a good target for metabolic engineering strategies
Trace Elements in Edible Flowers from Italy: Further Insights into Health Benefits and Risks to Consumers
No full textThe use of edible flowers in cooking dates back to ancient times, but recently it is gaining success among the consumers, increasingly attentive to healthy and sustainable foods of high quality, without neglecting taste, flavour, and visual appeal. The present study aims to deepen the knowledge regarding the mineral composition of edible flowers, an aspect not widely investigated in scientific literature. The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn have been determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES) in flowers belonging to a wide variety of species. The study highlights that some floral species are characterized by significantly higher concentrations of certain trace elements, e.g., the flowers of Acmella oleracea for Mn, those of basil (Ocimum basilicum) and of pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata and C. pepo) for Cu and Sr, and those of orange daylily Hemerocallis fulva) for Ni. Potentially toxic elements are present at low concentrations, often below the limit of the detection for Cd, Co, Ni, V. In all samples, Cd and Pb are well below the maximum permitted levels in foodstuffs. It can be concluded that the edible flowers analyzed can be considered a good source of essential elements and do not present risks for the consumer health as for the mineral composition
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