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Vol.:(0123456789)
Tropical Plant Biology (2025) 18:19
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12042-024-09391-z
RESEARCH
Bioactive Metabolites andISSR Marker Assisted Selection
Demonstrate theDiversity inClitoria ternatea L. (Leguminosae)
Morphotypes
AryaM.R1 · S.SuharaBeevy1· MathewDan2
Received: 20 September 2024 / Accepted: 24 December 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024
Abstract
Clitoria ternatea L. (Family: Fabaceae) comprises two varieties, namely, C. ternatea var. ternatea (Papilionaceous form)
and C. ternatea var. pleniflora (Non-papilionaceous form). The proposed study compared seven morphotypes of C. ternatea
exhibiting different flower colors and symmetry with their profiled bioactive metabolites and ISSR markers. A phytochemi-
cal study was performed on fresh floral methanolic extracts to estimate total flavonoid, total anthocyanin (Cyanidin and
Delphinidin equivalents), and total phenolic content. The genotypes showed varied amounts of these constituents, with the
highest quantities found in the Single Blue morphotype for phenolic and Cyanidin equivalents, while the Double Blue mor-
photype exhibited the highest flavonoid and Delphinidin content. The antioxidant potential of the Double Blue morphotype
was comparable to ascorbic acid in the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Additionally, ISSR markers effectively distinguished
morphotypes based on floral color and symmetry. From an initial 30 primers, 20 generated clear, reproducible polymorphic
bands. UBC 868 amplified the highest number of bands, while UBC 890 showed complete monomorphism across all varieties
with 21 monomorphic bands. The average resolving power was 2.267, and UBC 810 demonstrated significant discriminat-
ing power among morphotypes. UBC 855 revealed distinctive patterns in double petal forms, whereas UBC 872 served as
a floral color-specific marker, differentiating blue morphotypes from others. This study helps to compare the intraspecific
variants differing in color and floral architecture, establishing a correlation between phytochemical profiles and petal colora-
tion, thereby enhancing the understanding of this species' diversity.
Keywords Anthocyanin· Flavonoid· Flower colour· Genetic variability· ISSR· Phenol
Introduction
Fabaceae is one of the largest and economically significant
plant families (Montejano-Ramírez and Valencia-Cantero
2024) with floral polymorphisms. The polymorphism in
legumes is usually limited to only flower color, with flowers
exhibiting characteristic bilateral symmetry and possessing
a unique structure, often featuring a standard petal (upper
petal), two wing petals on the sides, and two fused keel pet-
als that form a boat-like structure at the base. However, the
genus Clitoria belonging to the family Fabaceae is excep-
tional since it shows intraspecific variability in flower color
and petal architecture.
The members of the genus are mostly climbers con-
fined to tropical and subtropical regions across the globe.
The taxonomy of Clitoria is somewhat ambiguous, with
incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of species and type
specimens (Fantz 1991). The genus is categorized into three
subgenera—Subgenus Bractearia, Clitoria, and Neurocar-
pum—along with eight sections. Fantz (1979) recognizes 58
species as valid across all three subgenera. Among these spe-
cies, Clitoria ternatea, commonly called butterfly pea, holds
significant importance due to its medicinal and ornamental
Communicated by: Hongwei Cai.
* Arya M. R
aryamr3@gmail.com
S. Suhara Beevy
s.beevy@rediffmail.com
Mathew Dan
danmathew2002@gmail.com
1 Biosystematics Division, Department ofBotany, University
ofKerala, Kariavattom, 695581Thiruvananthapuram, India
2 Plant Genetic Resources Division, JNTBGRI,
695562Thiruvananthapuram, India
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