Influence of soil fertility on dye flavonoids production in weld (Reseda luteola L.) accessions from Portugal.

A HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) methodology was developed to allow the simultaneous identification and quantification of Reseda luteola L. (weld) dye flavonoids, luteolin, apigenin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-glucoside, luteolin 3',7-O-diglucoside and luteolin 4'-O-glucoside. The method was validated with excellent results in linearity, sensibility, accuracy and precision. This method was applied to evaluate the influence of soil fertility on the production of weld dye flavonoids. The results showed that weld dye capacity is dependent on soil fertility and the origin of seeds. This method proved its reproducibility and can be used to evaluate the dyeing potential of R. luteola samples in a simple and accurate way.