Proceedings of the XLV Italian Society of Agricultural
Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress
Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy - 26/29 September, 2001
ISBN 88-900622-1-5
Poster Abstract
CAROTENOIDS
CONTENT AND VARIABILITY IN EINKORN (TRITICUM MONOCOCCUM
SSP. MONOCOCCUM L.)
BRUSCHI G.*, HIDALGO VIDAL A.**, BRANDOLINI A.*
* Istituto
Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, S.O.P. S. Angelo Lodigiano
cerealicoltura@iscsal.it
**
Dipartimento Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari e Microbiologiche, Facoltà
di Agraria, Milano
alyssa.hidalgovidal@unimi.it
carotenoid,
einkorn, b-carotene, lutein
Einkorn (Triticum
monococcum ssp monococcum L.) is a
diploid wheat (2n=2x=14) domesticated ca. 10000 years ago and widely grown for
millenia in Europe, until the advent of free-threshing and higher yielding
polyploid wheats curtailed its role. Today einkorn is a relic crop, only grown
in small areas of the Mediterranean region (mainly Balkans and Morocco). Recent
studies highlighted several positive traits available in einkorn genepool: resistance
to diseases, pests and stresses, high protein content, good breadmaking and
biscuit-making quality and relevant carotenoids content.
Carotenoids are a group of
plants-synthesized, fat soluble pigments; b-carotene and about 50-60 other similar compounds are known as
vitamin–A precursors. Furthermore, carotenoids mediate cellular functions
and behave as protective antioxidants: in this role, lycopene, zeaxanthin and
lutein are more effective than b-carotene as
scavengers of oxidative species. Carotenoids, mainly lutein, are about 2-4 ppm
in bread wheat and 3-11 ppm in durum wheat.
Objectives of our research were to study the variation for carotenoids
content in einkorn and to assess the influence of location and planting season.
To these ends, samples from einkorn accessions grown in agronomic trials in two
locations (S. Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, and Cologne, Germany) during 1997 and
1998, and in S. Angelo Lodigiano in two planting seasons (autumn and spring)
during 1999 and 2000 were analysed for carotenoid content. The carotenoids were
extracted following the official AACC method and the absorption spectrum of
three samples and two controls was determined with a spectrophotometre at
wavelengths between 350 and 550 nm. Afterwards, carotenoid content was measured
for all the samples at two different wavelengths (436 and 448 nm),
corresponding to the maximum absorbances of b-carotene and lutein.
The einkorn accessions had a carotenoid content ranging from 13.8 to
30.4 ppm at 448 nm, three to eight times higher than the bread wheat controls
(Centauro and Salmone) and up to 2.5 times better than the durum wheat controls
(Duilio and Simeto). Pigment content varied between locations (S. Angelo 23.1
ppm and Cologne 24.7 ppm) and between planting seasons (autumn 25.7 ppm and
spring 24.5 ppm); however, no significant interaction among accessions and the
other factors was detected. The einkorn accessions ID112, ID347 and ID559 were
scarce in carotenoids (below 15 ppm) while ID190, ID209, ID259, ID279, ID529, ID1352, ID1387 and ID398
exibited contents above 27 ppm.