S15 - Session P1 - Evaluation of Brassica crops for morphological and biochemical characteristics

Authors: Donata Arena *, Simone Treccarichi, Maria Concetta Di Bella, Hejer Ben Ammar, Valentina Picchi, Roberto Lo Scalzo

BRESOV project (Breeding for Resilient, Efficient, Sustainable and Organic production) is focused on the discovering of resilient genotypes and Brassica oleracea L., as well as its crop wild relatives (CWRs) was a target group to investigate. Seventy-two accessions of B. oleracea L. belongig to the Di3A genebank of the University of Catania, were evaluated concerning the bio-morphometric and biochemical traits, such as polyphenols profile and antioxidant capacity. The tested accessions included several B. oleracea cultivars, landraces and some CWRs: Brassica oleracea var. acephala, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Brassica oleracea var. italica, Brassica balearica, Brassica barrelieri, Brassica bourgeaui, Brassica cretica, Brassica desnottesi, Brassica drepanensis, Brassica incana, Brassica macrocarpa, Brassica montana, Brassica hilarionis, Brassica souliei, Brassica villosa, Brassica tyrrhena, Brassica trichocarpa. The seed of each accession were sowing in a cold greenhouse in Catania at the end of October 2018 applying organic cultivation and nutrition protocols. The plantlets were transplanted during December 2018 in a pot (25 cm of diameter) filled with organic substrate and volcanic coarse 2:1. Three plants of each accession were characterized for bio-morphometric parameters such as height (cm), basal and stem diameters (cm), leaves parameters like area (cm2), longitudinal lenght (cm), colour and wings (present or absent). Bio-morphometric data were analysed using International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR). Phenologycal parameters like inflorescence appearance (giulian days) were registered. Leave samples were collected at full ripening, stored at -80°C and they were utilized for biochemical analysis, as total polyphenols (PHP) profile by Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assay for detecting total reducing capacity and the antioxidant capacity, respectively. The results showed relevant differences in relation to the genotypes. Brassica montana was the best genotype for the total polyphenols amount (3581 mg GAE eq/ 100g d.w.) and Brassica bourgeaui, 6592 mg AsA eq/100g d.w. was the most performing one for antioxidant capacity.