Characterization of Purple Carrot Germplasm for Antioxidant Capacity and Root Concentration of Anthocyanins, Phenolics, and Carotenoids.

The present study characterized a genetically and phenotypically diverse collection of 27 purple and two non-purple (one orange and one yellow) carrot accessions for concentration of root anthocyanins, phenolics, and carotenoids, and antioxidant capacity estimated by four different methods (ORAC, DPPH, ABTS, FRAP), in a partially replicated experimental design comprising data from two growing seasons (2018 and 2019). Broad and significant (p < 0.0001) variation was found among the accessions for all the traits. Acylated anthocyanins (AA) predominated over non-acylated anthocyanins (NAA) in all the accessions and years analyzed, with AA accounting for 55.5-100% of the total anthocyanin content (TAC). Anthocyanins acylated with ferulic acid and coumaric acid were the most abundant carrot anthocyanins. In general, black or solid purple carrots had the greatest TAC and total phenolic content (TPC), and the strongest antioxidant capacities, measured by all methods. Antioxidant capacity, estimated by all methods, was significantly, positively, and moderately-to-strongly correlated with the content of all individual anthocyanins pigments, TAC, and TPC, in both years (r = 0.59-0.90, p < 0.0001), but not with the carotenoid pigments lutein and ß-carotene; suggesting that anthocyanins and other phenolics, but not carotenoids, are major contributors of the antioxidant capacity in purple carrots. We identified accessions with high concentration of chemically stable AA, with potential value for the production of food dyes, and accessions with relatively high content of bioavailable NAA that can be selected for increased nutraceutical value (e.g., for fresh consumption).

Functional Ingredients From Brassicaceae Species: Overview and Perspectives.

Brassicaceae vegetables are important crops consumed worldwide due to their unique flavor, and for their broadly recognized functional properties, which are directly related to their phytochemical composition. Isothiocyanates (ITC) are the most characteristic compounds, considered responsible for their pungent taste. Besides ITC, these vegetables are also rich in carotenoids, phenolics, minerals, and vitamins. Consequently, Brassica's phytochemical profile makes them an ideal natural source for improving the nutritional quality of manufactured foods. In this sense, the inclusion of functional ingredients into food matrices are of growing interest. In the present work, Brassicaceae ingredients, functionality, and future perspectives are reviewed.

Microsatellite analysis and marker development in garlic: distribution in EST sequence, genetic diversity analysis, and marker transferability across Alliaceae.

Allium vegetables, such as garlic and onion, have understudied genomes and limited molecular resources, hindering advances in genetic research and breeding of these species. In this study, we characterized and compared the simple sequence repeats (SSR) landscape in the transcriptomes of garlic and related Allium (A. cepa, A. fistulosum, and A. tuberosum) and non-Allium monocot species. In addition, 110 SSR markers were developed from garlic ESTs, and they were characterized-along with 112 previously developed SSRs-at various levels, including transferability across Alliaceae species, and their usefulness for genetic diversity analysis. Among the Allium species analyzed, garlic ESTs had the highest overall SSR density, the lowest frequency of trinucleotides, and the highest of di- and tetranucleotides. When compared to more distantly related monocots, outside the Asparagales order, it was evident that ESTs of Allium species shared major commonalities with regards to SSR density, frequency distribution, sequence motifs, and GC content. A significant fraction of the SSR markers were successfully transferred across Allium species, including crops for which no SSR markers have been developed yet, such as leek, shallot, chives, and elephant garlic. Diversity analysis of garlic cultivars with selected SSRs revealed 36 alleles, with 2-5 alleles/locus, and PIC = 0.38. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions according to their flowering behavior, botanical variety, and ecophysiological characteristics. Results from this study contribute to the characterization of Allium transcriptomes. The new SSR markers developed, along with the data from the polymorphism and transferability analyses, will aid in assisting genetic research and breeding in garlic and other Allium.

Dataset on absorption spectra and bulb concentration of phenolic compounds that may interfere with onion pyruvate determinations.

We present data on absorption spectra (400-540 nm) and concentration of phenolic compounds quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, rutin, catechin, epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), in yellow, red and white onions. These data are related to the article entitled "Variability in spectrophotometric pyruvate analyses for predicting onion pungency and nutraceutical value" (Beretta et al., 2017) [1]. Given the relevance of pyruvate determinations for estimating onion pungency and functional value, it is important to identify compounds that can interfere with pyruvate determinations when using two previously published analytical procedures, namely Schwimmer and Weston (1961) (SW) [2] and Anthon and Barret (2002) (AB) [3], which are based on spectrophotometry and light-absorbance at 420 nm and 515 nm, respectively. The data presented in this article are absorption spectra for 7 onion phenolic compounds in the range 400-540 nm, which include wavelengths used by the two pyruvate analytical methods (Schwimmer and Weston, 1961; Anthon and Barret, 2002) [2,3] that were compared in our reference article (Beretta et al., 2017) [1]. Additionally, bulb content data for these 7 phenolic compounds in onion cultivars and F2 progenies with different bulb color were included to allow further analyses.

Variability in spectrophotometric pyruvate analyses for predicting onion pungency and nutraceutical value.

Onion pyruvate concentration is used as a predictor of flavor intensity and nutraceutical value. The protocol of Schwimmer and Weston (SW) (1961) is the most widespread methodology for estimating onion pyruvate. Anthon and Barret (AB) (2003) proposed modifications to this procedure. Here, we compared these spectrophotometry-based procedures for pyruvate analysis using a diverse collection of onion cultivars. The SW method always led to over-estimation of pyruvate levels in colored, but not in white onions, by up to 65%. Identification of light-absorbance interfering compounds was performed by spectrophotometry and HPLC analysis. Interference by quercetin and anthocyanins, jointly, accounted for more than 90% of the over-estimation of pyruvate. Pyruvate determinations according to AB significantly reduced absorbance interference from compounds other than pyruvate. This study provides evidence about the mechanistic basis underlying differences between the SW and AB methods for indirect assessment of onion flavor and nutraceutical value.