Conversa Giulia, Botticella Lucia, Lazzizera Corrado, Bonasia Anna, Elia Antonio
Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jun 14;15:1397852. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1397852. eCollection 2024.
subsp. Scop. (sea rocket) is a succulent halophyte with significant potential as a nutritious food source, being rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This annual species exhibits two distinct leaf morphotypes: entire lamina (EL) and pinnatifid lamina (PL). Our understanding of their ecophysiological and nutritional profiles is still limited. The present study investigated the wild EL and PL sea rocket plants from southern Italy during their vegetative stage. The bio-morphological traits (leaf mass area-LMA, dry matter and chlorophyll concentrations), main inorganic ions, key antioxidants (carotenoids, anthocyanins, phenols, flavonoids, glucosinolates, vitamin C as ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid), and antioxidant activity (by FRAP, DPPH, ABTS assays) were analyzed. Additionally, photosynthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured. PL plants showed thicker leaves (higher LMA) and greater accumulation of photo-protective pigments (carotenoids and anthocyanins), despite similar chlorophyll levels. The PL plants also demonstrated higher photosynthetic activity, transpiration rates, and stomatal conductance, with reduced non-photochemical quenching. The EL morphotype had higher cation (K, Mg, Ca, Na) and vitamin C (135.3 mg 100 g FW) concentrations, while no significant disparities were observed between the morphotypes in phenolic concentration (208.5 mg g.a.e. 100 g FW), flavonoids (71.5 mg q.e. 100 g FW), or glucosinolates (61 mg g FW). Interestingly, while the EL type had higher vitamin C, the PL morphotype showed superior antioxidant activity (FRAP, DPPH) and seems to be better adapted to water/nutrient scarcity typical of southern Italy. Both morphotypes offer potential as high-nutritional foods, however, future research should investigate the genotype-specific production of antioxidant compounds in EL and PL plants in response to environmental stresses, including salinity for potential exploitation as a new crop.
海甘蓝亚种（海甘蓝）是一种肉质盐生植物，作为一种营养丰富的食物来源具有巨大潜力，富含维生素、矿物质和抗氧化剂等必需营养素。这种一年生植物表现出两种不同的叶片形态类型：全缘叶片（EL）和羽状深裂叶片（PL）。我们对它们的生态生理和营养特征的了解仍然有限。本研究调查了意大利南部处于营养生长阶段的野生EL和PL海甘蓝植株。分析了生物形态特征（叶面积质量-LMA、干物质和叶绿素浓度）、主要无机离子、关键抗氧化剂（类胡萝卜素、花青素、酚类、黄酮类、芥子油苷、维生素C（抗坏血酸和脱氢抗坏血酸））以及抗氧化活性（通过FRAP、DPPH、ABTS测定）。此外，还测量了光合气体交换和叶绿素荧光。尽管叶绿素水平相似，但PL植株的叶片更厚（LMA更高），且光保护色素（类胡萝卜素和花青素）积累更多。PL植株还表现出更高的光合活性、蒸腾速率和气孔导度，同时非光化学猝灭降低。EL形态类型的阳离子（钾、镁、钙、钠）和维生素C（135.3毫克/100克鲜重）浓度更高，而在酚类浓度（208.5毫克/克干重当量/100克鲜重）、黄酮类（71.5毫克/克当量/100克鲜重）或芥子油苷（61毫克/克鲜重）方面，两种形态类型之间未观察到显著差异。有趣的是，虽然EL类型的维生素C含量更高，但PL形态类型表现出更强的抗氧化活性（FRAP、DPPH），似乎更能适应意大利南部典型的水/养分短缺环境。两种形态类型都有作为高营养食物的潜力，然而，未来的研究应该调查EL和PL植株中抗氧化化合物的基因型特异性生产，以应对包括盐分在内的环境胁迫，从而有可能将其开发为一种新作物。
