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Variation and Distribution of Glucosinolates in 42 Cultivars of Brassica oleracea Vegetable Crops

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Ruud Verkerk at Wageningen University & Research
Ruud Verkerk
S. Tebbenhoff
S. Tebbenhoff
S. Tebbenhoff
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Matthijs Dekker at Wageningen University & Research
Matthijs Dekker
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Brassica vegetables are known to contain glucosinolates that are precursors for bioactive compounds like isothiocyanates that have been shown to play an important role in human health. This study reports the results of a screening of 11 Brassica oleracea crops consisting of 42 cultivars (6 white cabbage, 5 red cabbage, 7 Brussels sprouts, 2 kale, 1 tronchuda, 3 oxheart cabbage, 2 kohlrabi, 6 broccoli, 5 cauliflower, 3 romanesco and 2 Savoy cabbage). All these cultivars were cultivated under the same conditions on a single location in the same season. The variation found in the level of glucosinolates is expected to be mainly due to the genetic variation. A large variation was observed in the level and profile of glucosinolates. Total glucosinolates varied from 14 to 625 μmol/100 g fresh weight. Glucoraphanin, the precursor of the isothiocyanate sulforophane, varied from 0 to 141 μmol/100 g fresh weight. Within broccoli glucoraphanin varied from 27 to 141 μmol/100 g fresh weight. Glucoiberin that is structurally related to glucoraphanin varied from 6 to 397 μmol/100 g fresh weight. Within broccoli glucoiberin varied from 21 to 397 μmol/100 g fresh weight
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Variation and Distribution of Glucosinolates in 42 Cultivars of Brassica
oleracea Vegetable Crops
R. Verkerk, S. Tebbenhoff and M. Dekker
Product Design and Quality Management Group
Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences
Wageningen University
Wageningen
The Netherlands
Keywords: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, Romanesco, kohlrabi,
genetic variation, glucoraphanin
Abstract
Brassica vegetables are known to contain glucosinolates that are precursors
for bioactive compounds like isothiocyanates that have been shown to play an
important role in human health. This study reports the results of a screening of 11
Brassica oleracea crops consisting of 42 cultivars (6 white cabbage, 5 red cabbage, 7
Brussels sprouts, 2 kale, 1 tronchuda, 3 oxheart cabbage, 2 kohlrabi, 6 broccoli, 5
cauliflower, 3 romanesco and 2 Savoy cabbage). All these cultivars were cultivated
under the same conditions on a single location in the same season. The variation
found in the level of glucosinolates is expected to be mainly due to the genetic
variation. A large variation was observed in the level and profile of glucosinolates.
Total glucosinolates varied from 14 to 625 µmol/100 g fresh weight. Glucoraphanin,
the precursor of the isothiocyanate sulforophane, varied from 0 to 141 µmol/100 g
fresh weight. Within broccoli glucoraphanin varied from 27 to 141 µmol/100 g fresh
weight. Glucoiberin that is structurally related to glucoraphanin varied from 6 to
397 µmol/100 g fresh weight. Within broccoli glucoiberin varied from 21 to
397 µmol/100 g fresh weight.
INTRODUCTION
Fruits and vegetables are abundant sources of various, extensively studied, health-
protective phytochemicals. One important group of these phytochemicals is that of the
glucosinolates. Glucosinolates (GS) comprise a group of thioglucosides naturally
occurring in Brassica vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, radish, Brussels sprouts
and cabbage. Glucosinolates co-exist with, but are physically separated from the
hydrolytic enzyme myrosinase in the intact Brassica plant. Upon mechanical injury of the
tissue, the enzyme and substrate come into contact resulting in hydrolysis (Mithen et al.,
2000). The products of GS hydrolysis, particularly the isothiocyanates and indoles, have
been shown to act as anticarcinogens by inhibition of phase I enzymes responsible for
bioactivation of carcinogens and by induction of phase II detoxification enzymes that
affect xenobiotic transformations (Talalay and Fahey, 2001). Research is ongoing to
establish the biological activities of dietary glucosinolates and breakdown products, their
bioavailability and metabolism (Mithen et al., 2000).
Epidemiological studies indicate that a diet rich in Brassica vegetables can reduce
the risk from a number of cancers (Van Poppel et al., 1999; Verhoeven et al., 1997).
However, up to now epidemiology cannot reproducibly correlate protection against
certain cancers or other diseases with specific vegetables, subgroups or individual
components. A plausible explanation for this can be the lack of realistic intake data of
specific health protective phytochemicals. Assessment of accurate dietary intake of
phytochemicals thus can play a crucial role. With more knowledge on the effects of the
complete vegetable production chain a more effective choice can be made on how to
enhance phytochemical levels in the final consumed product. Moreover, epidemiological
studies can possibly be improved by correcting phytochemical intake data for different
steps in the food production chain. Previously we have demonstrated a large variability in
63
Proc. IS on Vegetable Safety and Human Health
Eds.: Hongju He and Wei Liu
Acta Hort. 856, ISHS 2010
levels of glucosinolates within a food production chain of Brassica vegetables (Dekker et
al., 2000; Dekker and Verkerk, 2003, 2005).
In this article we present a comparative study of glucosinolate distribution and
variability between and within groups of the most widely consumed Brassica vegetables
such as different types of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Materials
The various Brassica vegetables were commercial hybrids supplied by Bejo Zaden
BV (Warmenhuizen, The Netherlands). The plants were grown on the same field (2002)
under standard cultivation and harvest conditions. At optimum maturity five plants were
harvested of each cultivar. All the edible parts of the vegetables were used for
glucosinolate analysis. The vegetables were chopped, mixed thoroughly and directly
frozen with liquid nitrogen. The frozen material was ground in a Waring Blender (Model
34BL99, Dynamics Corp. of America, New Hartford, Connecticut, USA) and stored at
-30°C until further analysis.
Glucosinolate Analysis
Individual glucosinolates were analysed using high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) following on-column desulphation as described by Verkerk et al.
(2001). Values are reported as µmol/100 g fresh weight (FW).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the analysis of the individual glucosinolate levels of the 42 cultivars
of the 11 Brassica oleracea crops are given in Table 1.
Broccoli
The predominant glucosinolate in broccoli is glucoraphanin, ranging from 26.6 to
141.2 µmol/100 g FW, with the exception of cultivar ‘Bordeaux’ (purple sprouting
broccoli) that has an exceptionally high level of glucoiberin (396.5 µmol/100 g FW). The
other broccoli varieties had glucoiberin levels ranging from 20.6 to 52.2 µmol/100 g FW.
No sinigrin was detected in broccoli, with the exception of ‘Bordeaux’.
Brussels Sprouts
The total level of glucosinolates in Brussels sprouts is, on average, the highest of
all the tested Brassica vegetables. The predominant glucosinolate in Brussels sprouts is
sinigrin, ranging from 51.9 to 310.9 µmol/100 g FW, followed by progoitrin, ranging
from 25.3 to 157.2 µmol/100 g FW.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower contains relatively low amounts of glucosinolates. Glucoiberin is the
predominant glucosinolate ranging from 7.6 to 34.2 µmol/100 g FW.
Kale In one of the varieties glucoiberin is the predominant glucosinolate, while in the
other one more gluconasturtiin is present.
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi contains relatively low amounts of glucosinolates. The red variety
(‘Kolibri’) contains four times more compared to the white variety (‘Korist’).
Oxheart Cabbage
The total glucosinolate level of oxheart cabbage ranges from 85 to 165 µmol/
100 g FW. In two of the three varieties glucoiberin has the highest levels, ranging from
64
31.2 to 72.0 µmol/100 g FW. The other variety (‘Bejo 2574’) has a high level of
glucobrassicin (90.7 µmol/100 g FW).
Red Cabbage
Red cabbage has relatively high levels of glucoraphanin, ranging from 19.8 to
105.3 µmol/100 g FW, which is in the same range as the tested broccoli varieties. Other
glucosinolates with relatively high levels are glucoiberin, progoitrin, sinigrin and
gluconapin. The total level of glucosinolates ranges from 140 to 381 µmol/100 g FW.
Romanesco
Romanesco contains relatively low amounts of glucosinolates, ranging from 46 to
53 µmol/100 g FW.
Savoy Cabbage
Savoy cabbage contains predominantly glucoiberin and sinigrin. The ‘Wirosa’
variety has an exceptional high level of glucoiberin (289.8 µmol/100 g FW) and total
glucosinolates (482 µmol/100 g FW).
White Cabbage
Sinigrin and glucoiberin are the glucosinolates with the highest levels in white
cabbage. The total level ranges from 127 to 241 µmol/100 g FW.
Tronchuda
Only one variety of tronchuda (Portuguese kale) was tested. It contains relatively
low amount of glucosinolates. The predominant glucosinolate was glucoiberin
(22.1 µmol/100 g FW).
CONCLUSIONS
A large variation was observed in the level and profile of glucosinolates of 11
Brassica oleracea crops consisting of 42 cultivars (6 white cabbage, 5 red cabbage, 7
Brussels sprouts, 2 kale, 1 tronchuda, 3 oxheart cabbage, 2 kohlrabi, 6 broccoli, 5
cauliflower, 3 romanesco and 2 Savoy cabbage). Total glucosinolates varied from 14 to
625 µmol/100 g fresh weight. Glucoraphanin, the precursor of the isothiocyanate
sulforophane, varied from 0 to 141 µmol/100 g fresh weight. Within broccoli
glucoraphanin varied from 27 to 141 µmol/100 g fresh weight. Glucoiberin that is
structurally related to glucoraphanin varied from 6 to 397 µmol/100 g fresh weight.
Within broccoli glucoiberin varied from 21 to 397 µmol/100 g fresh weight.
Since all cultivars were cultivated under the same conditions on a single location
in the same season, the observed variation in the level of glucosinolates is expected to be
mainly due to the genetic variation. Even within the same vegetable type the variation can
be very large.
By selection of cultivars the level of desirable glucosinolate can be enhanced
considerably, which can lead to a substantial increase of the intake of health promoting
glucosinolates even without increasing the overall vegetable consumption. To reach this
goal also the critical points in the food supply chain that determine the retention of
glucosinolates in the finally consumed product (industrial processing and consumer
preparation) have to be optimized and controlled.
Literature Cited
Dekker, M., Verkerk, R. and Jongen, W.M.F. 2000. Predictive modelling of health aspects
in the food production chain, a case study on glucosinolates in cabbage. Trends in
Food Science & Technology 11(4/5):174-181.
Dekker, M. and Verkerk, R. 2003. Dealing with Variability in Food Production Chains: A
Tool to Enhance the Sensitivity of Epidemiological Studies on Phytochemicals. Eur. J.
Nutri. 42:67-72.
65
66
Dekker, M. and Verkerk, R. 2005. Modelling the Consequences of Variability in Food
Production Chains on Human Health. Acta Hort. 674:71-76.
Mithen, R.F., Dekker, M., Verkerk, R., Rabot, S. and Johnson, I.T. 2000. The nutritional
significance, biosynthesis and bioavailability of glucosinolates in human foods. J. Sci.
Food Agric. 80:967-984.
Talalay, P. and Fahey, J.W. 2001. Phytochemicals from cruciferous plants protect against
cancer by modulating carcinogen metabolism. Journal of Nutrition 131(11
supplement):3027S-3033S.
Van Poppel, G., Verhoeven, D.T.H., Verhagen, H., Goldbohm, R.A. et al. 1999. Brassica
vegetables and cancer prevention. Epidemiology and mechanisms. Advances in
Experimental Medicine and Biology 472:159-68.
Verhoeven, D.T.H., Verhagen, H., Goldbohm, R.A., van den Brandt, P.A. and van Poppel,
G.A. 1997. A review of mechanisms underlying anticarcinogenicity by brassica
vegetables. Chem. Biol. Interact. 103:79-129.
Tables
Table 1. Glucosinolate levels (µmol/100 g fresh weight) of Brassica oleracea varieties.
variety
glucoiberin
progoitrin
sinigrine
raphanin
napoleiferin
glucoalysin
gluconapin
4OH-glucobrassicin
glucobrassicanapin
glucobrassicin
gluconasturtiin
4-methoxyglucobrassicin
neoglucobrassicin
total
BROCCOLI
Alborada 25.9 5.0 69.2 3.9 13.7 8.4 7.5 134
Belstar 26.2 7.4 130.1 1.5 3.6 29.6 9.0 6.8 214
Bordeaux 396.5 5.9 15.7 26.6 42.1 2.7 24.2 10.5 9.6 534
Coronado 52.2 9.0 141.2 0.9 3.4 1.5 23.6 12.7 20.1 265
Lucky 20.6 5.5 35.7 1.2 6.1 6.9 5.1 4.4 86
Surveyor 26.0 5.0 57.4 1.1 2.3 14.4 6.3 8.6 121
BRUSSELS' SPROUTS
Dominator 83.3 93.2 310.9 9.2 47.6 3.3 54.8 11.0 11.7 625
Doric 38.2 157.2 149.8 26.4 0.4 2.1 110.8 3.1 4.5 60.5 9.9 5.1 0.7 569
Franklin 51.1 105.6 141.5 27.9 1.1 72.9 0.7 101.7 12.2 2.5 517
Glenroy 37.0 48.3 122.5 11.7 22.1 3.3 0.6 76.7 1.9 7.6 332
Maximus 91.5 25.3 64.5 22.8 36.6 2.0 2.5 28.3 9.2 3.4 0.4 287
Nautic 37.0 67.1 51.9 41.8 24.3 32.0 0.8 10.6 43.9 9.2 2.3 1.1 322
Revenge 47.5 111.8 202.3 8.5 52.2 2.6 37.9 7.3 8.7 479
CAULIFLOWER
Cassius 7.6 3.6 4.9 0.7 1.6 3.5 0.5 1.4 4.9 2.0 0.7 31
Encanto 10.5 6.1 7.4 3.6 9.4 0.3 0.7 2.5 1.2 42
Jerez 16.8 4.8 12.4 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.3 1.4 46
Panther (green) 34.2 3.4 7.9 2.1 4.3 0.8 4.8 1.7 59
Skywalker 10.2 6.1 6.2 3.5 2.1 0.3 3.3 0.8 33
67
67
68
Table 1. Continued.
variety
glucoiberin
progoitrin
sinigrine
raphanin
napoleiferin
glucoalysin
gluconapin
4OH-glucobrassicin
glucobrassicanapin
glucobrassicin
gluconasturtiin
4-methoxyglucobrassicin
neoglucobrassicin
total
KALE
Redbor 23.4 6.1 10.4 6.6 3.6 6.7 2.8 68.0 4.9 27.2 160
Riphor 35.0 6.3 20.0 1.7 9.4 4.9 5.2 3.5 14.0 100
KOHLRABI
Kolibri 12.8 28.6 0.8 4.8 1.0 3.1 1.1 52
Korist 6.4 1.0 3.3 1.7 12
OXHEART CABBAGE
Bejo 2574 32.3 1.6 20.0 2.1 1.7 2.6 0.5 90.7 2.6 8.7 1.5 164
Bejo 2575 72.0 6.3 45.1 9.2 1.1 8.3 19.2 4.1 165
Capricorn 31.2 5.9 24.6 5.0 9.1 6.1 3.0 85
RED CABBAGE
Azurro 19.5 30.5 31.4 19.8 0.8 25.7 0.7 10.2 1.9 140
Buscaro 51.6 75.7 79.5 66.2 0.4 0.4 59.3 1.6 6.0 2.8 344
Huzaro 21.9 37.3 25.5 105.3 0.8 1.4 26.0 2.2 9.9 3.5 234
Integro 30.1 42.3 53.1 61.0 0.4 35.2 1.6 9.5 1.2 234
Pesaro 57.7 68.6 79.1 97.9 0.9 0.6 59.1 2.1 8.9 1.4 4.7 381
ROMANESCO
Amfora 13.0 4.7 16.0 2.9 3.9 0.5 6.3 4.4 1.5 53
Bejo 1955 25.4 3.0 2.1 3.1 3.0 5.4 3.2 1.1 46
Veronica 15.9 3.6 12.4 2.0 3.9 0.2 5.5 3.9 0.9 48
68
Table 1. Continued.
methoxyglucobrassicin
variety
glucoiberin
progoitrin
sinigrine
raphanin
napoleiferin
glucoalysin
gluconapin
4OH-glucobrassicin
glucobrassicanapin
glucobrassicin
gluconasturtiin
4-
neoglucobrassicin
tal to
SAVOY CABBAGE
Ovasa 54.2 17.2 2.7 0.3 15.2 6.1 96
Wirosa 289.8 6.4 141.8 7.8 3.7 27.6 4.7 482
WHITE CABBAGE
Almanac 24.8 28.3 32.2 18.9 18.3 0.9 0.9 2.6 127
Deen 60.7 5.8 106.0 3.8 3.0 0.4 8.3 4.9 1.2 194
Krautman 67.7 6.7 84.1 1.9 4.9 1.4 2.0 1.2 2.6 173
Lennox 109.0 8.2 56.1 18.8 4.3 0.7 3.5 2.5 203
Mandy 100.1 14.6 67.4 28.3 6.3 8.2 1.6 4.0 2.9 233
Mentor 57.6 16.0 142.6 3.1 3.4 10.9 1.6 3.1 2.3 0.4 241
TRONCHUDA
Beira 22.1 1.7 2.1 1.3 4.8 11.7 17.7 3.7 1.6 67
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The sedentary lifestyle coupled with continuously changing food habits and search for nutrient-dense enriched protective foods has resulted in increased demand and consumption of natural foods. Among natural dietary ingredients, vegetables are the daily consumed dietary ingredients packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and an array of bioactive phytochemicals. Amongst vegetable crops, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, horseradish, mustard green, bok choy, brussels sprouts, etc. are the crops which are perceived far important than the mere table items for daily consumption owing to their rich functional bioactive profile. Presence of the sulfur-rich compounds (methyl cysteine sulfoxide and glucosinolates), coloring pigments (carotenoids, anthocyanins), minerals (Se, Fe, K, Ca), vitamins (B complex and C), dietary fiber, and other bioactive compounds (phytoalexins, terpenes, tocopherols, hydroxycinnamic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, synapic acid and flavonols) give them the distinctive nutraceutical status with well documented therapeutic benefits. Most of the research effort in the last decade has been directed to effectively find out the exact mode of action of these bioactive compounds on health with their minimum effective concentration, means to ensure their effective delivery to the target organs, and increased bioavailability of these compounds. Though, there is substantial evidence based on in vivo and in vitro findings that scientifically demonstrate their benefits more research needs to be conducted with an exploration of the unknown beneficial activities as well as the unwanted effects. Future research should be directed towards the functional enrichment either through genetic modifications or through regulation of pathways for ensuring the national and health security to the general population and the health-conscious people.
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... Novel traits may also be utilized to produce niche Brassica types for different purposes. For instance, Brassica species are characterized by the ubiquitous presence of glucosinolates, although the amount and composition of these compounds varies depending on the tissue or cultivar analyzed (Verkerk et al. 2010;Sun et al. 2019). Glucosinolates are secondary metabolites that have been associated in plants with insect resistance (Evivie et al. 2019), fungal resistance (Bednarek et al. 2009;Buxdorf et al. 2013), signalling molecules in the auxin pathway (Katz et al. 2015), its involvement in other biological processes like flowering time and stomatal closure (reviewed in (Barco and Clay 2019)) and even the possible contribution in preventing certain types of human cancer like lung, stomach and prostate when included in the diet (reviewed in (Traka and Mithen 2009)). ...
Using wild relatives and related species to build climate resilience in Brassica crops
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
  • THEOR APPL GENET
Climate change will have major impacts on crop production: not just increasing drought and heat stress, but also increasing insect and disease loads and the chance of extreme weather events and further adverse conditions. Often, wild relatives show increased tolerances to biotic and abiotic stresses, due to reduced stringency of selection for yield and yield-related traits under optimum conditions. One possible strategy to improve resilience in our modern-day crop cultivars is to utilize wild relative germplasm in breeding, and attempt to introgress genetic factors contributing to greater environmental tolerances from these wild relatives into elite crop types. However, this approach can be difficult, as it relies on factors such as ease of hybridization and genetic distance between the source and target, crossover frequencies and distributions in the hybrid, and ability to select for desirable introgressions while minimizing linkage drag. In this review, we outline the possible effects that climate change may have on crop production, introduce the Brassica crop species and their wild relatives, and provide an index of useful traits that are known to be present in each of these species that may be exploitable through interspecific hybridization-based approaches. Subsequently, we outline how introgression breeding works, what factors affect the success of this approach, and how this approach can be optimized so as to increase the chance of recovering the desired introgression lines. Our review provides a working guide to the use of wild relatives and related crop germplasm to improve biotic and abiotic resistances in Brassica crop species.
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... It includes important crop species such as Brassica oleracea (e.g., cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and Kai Lan), Brassica rapa (e.g., pakchoi, choy sum, and Chinese cabbage), Nasturtium officinale (e.g., watercress), and Raphanus sativus (e.g., daikon radish and red cherry radish). Other species such as Diplotaxis tenuifolia and Eruca vesicaria, commonly referred as 'rocket salads', have also attracted a considerable interest as culinary vegetables because of their strong flavor and content of putative health-promoting compounds (Verkerk et al., 2010). These species and their crop wild relatives (CWR -taxa closely related to crops) grown primarily in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which contains the highest proportion of agronomically important plants representing an important reservoir of genetic resources for crop improvement (Kell et al., 2008). ...
Exploring glucosinolates diversity in Brassicaceae: A genomic and chemical assessment for deciphering abiotic stress tolerance
Article
  • Feb 2020
  • PLANT PHYSIOL BIOCH
Brassica is one of the most economically important genus of the Brassicaceae family, encompassing several key crops like Brassica napus (cabbage) and broccoli (Brassica oleraceae var. italica). This family is well known for their high content of characteristic secondary metabolites such as glucosinolates (GLS) compounds, recognize for their beneficial health properties and role in plants defense. In this work, we have looked through gene clusters involved in the biosynthesis of GLS, by combining genomic analysis with biochemical pathways and chemical diversity assessment. A total of 101 Brassicaceae genes involved in GLS biosynthesis were identified, using a multi-database approach. Through a UPGMA and PCA analysis on the 101 GLS genes recorded, revealed a separation between the genes mainly involved in GLS core structure synthesis and genes belonging to the CYP450s and MYBs gene families. After, a detailed phylogenetic analysis was conducted to better understand the disjunction of the aliphatic and indolic genes, by focusing on CYP79F1–F2 and CYP81F1–F4, respectively. Our results point to a recent diversification of the aliphatic CYP79F1 and F2 genes in Brassica crops, while for indolic genes an earliest diversification is observed for CYP81F1–F4 genes. Chemical diversity revealed that Brassica crops have distinct GLS chemo-profiles from other Brassicaceae genera; being highlighted the high contents of GLS found among the Diplotaxis species. Also, we have explored GLS-rich species as a new source of taxa with great agronomic potential, particularly in abiotic stress tolerance, namely Diplotaxis, the closest wild relatives of Brassica crops.
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... "Marathon", purple sprouting broccoli was characterized also by higher levels of glucosinolates. Similarly, Verkerk et al. [232] observed exceptionally high glucoiberin content (396.5 μmol/100 g FW) in purple sprouting broccoli cv "Bordeaux" compared to other green broccoli genotypes, which suggests that there is some sort of interaction between purple pigmentation and glucosinolate profile of broccoli. In another study, analyzing the acylated anthocyanin profile of purple sprouting broccoli and three other green broccoli varieties at the sprouting stage, Moreno et al. [233] observed a significantly higher content of anthocyanins in the purple genotype compared to the green ones and observed that the quantity and quality of anthocyanin pigments were highly variable among the tested genotypes. ...
Grown to Be Blue—Antioxidant Properties and Health Effects of Colored Vegetables. Part II: Leafy, Fruit, and Other Vegetables
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2020
The current trend for substituting synthetic compounds with natural ones in the design and production of functional and healthy foods has increased the research interest about natural colorants. Although coloring agents from plant origin are already used in the food and beverage industry, the market and consumer demands for novel and diverse food products are increasing and new plant sources are explored. Fresh vegetables are considered a good source of such compounds, especially when considering the great color diversity that exists among the various species or even the cultivars within the same species. In the present review we aim to present the most common species of colored vegetables, focusing on leafy and fruit vegetables, as well as on vegetables where other plant parts are commercially used, with special attention to blue color. The compounds that are responsible for the uncommon colors will be also presented and their beneficial health effects and antioxidant properties will be unraveled.
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Disturbance and competition drive diversity effects in cabbage–aphid–onion systems with intra-specific genetic variation
Article
  • Jun 2019
Decreased reliance on pesticides can be achieved through a clever use of eco-evolutionary knowledge via intercropping economically valuable crops with companion plants that can hamper pest outbreaks. We created a greenhouse multi-layered microcosm system to test two potato peach aphid clones, performing alone or in competition, on mixes of genetically variable cultivars of cabbage, with and without onion. The onion acted as a nuisance/disturbance for the pest, which was generally for the benefit of the cabbage albeit both plants sharing space and nutrients. The onion effect was context-specific and differed by aphid genotype. Onion variable nuisance negatively affected the numbers of one aphid genotype (green) across all contexts, while the other genotype (pink) numbers were decreased in two contexts only. However, the green performed better than the pink on all cases of cabbage di-mixes despite its numbers being capped when the onion was present. Further, there was also a general aphid propensity to wander off the plant along with a differential production of winged morphs to escape the onion-affected environments. Moreover, through a comparative increase in dry mass, which was subject to onion and aphid effects, a diversity effect was found where the cabbages of fully genetically variable microcosms sustained similar final dry mass compared with non-infested microcosms. Our findings provide fresh insights into the use of multi-layered contextual designs that not only allow disentangling the relative effects of genetic variation and modes of interaction, but also help integrate their benefits into pest management in view of companion planting.
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The nutritional significance, biosynthesis and bioavailability of glucosinolates in human foods
Article
The glucosinolates are a large group of sulphur-containing compounds which occur in all the economically important varieties of Brassica vegetable. Their common structure comprises a β-D-thioglucose group, a sulphonated oxime moiety and a variable side-chain derived from methionine, tryptophan or phenylalanine. When the plant tissue is damaged the glucosinolates are hydrolysed by the endogenous enzyme ‘myrosinase’ (thioglucoside glycohydrolase EC 3:2:3:1), to release a range of breakdown products including the bitter, biologically active isothiocyanates. Although these compounds exert antinutritional effects in animals there is also substantial evidence that they are the principal source of anticarcinogenic activity in Brassica vegetables, and this provides a strong motive for the manipulation of glucosinolate levels in vegetables for human consumption. This review provides an overview of the evidence for a beneficial role for glucosinolates in human health, and describes the current state of knowledge regarding the genetics and biosynthesis of glucosinolates, their chemical analysis, their behaviour during cooking and processing, and their bioavailability to humans. As the genetic basis of glucosinolate biosynthesis becomes more apparent, and tools for marker-assisted plant breeding become more available, the selective breeding of horticultural brassicas with different levels and types of glucosinolates, whether by conventional means or genetic manipulation, is becoming a practical possibility. However before this strategy becomes commercially viable, the health benefits of glucosinolates for human beings must be unequivocally established.© 2000 Society of Chemical Industry
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A review of mechanism underlying anticarcinogenicity by Brassica vegetables
Article
  • Mar 1997
  • CHEM-BIOL INTERACT
The mechanisms by which brassica vegetables might decrease the risk of cancer are reviewed in this paper. Brassicas, including all types of cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, may be protective against cancer due to their relatively high glucosinolate content. Glucosinolates are usually broken down through hydrolysis catalyzed by myrosinase, an enzyme that is released from damaged plant cells. Some of the hydrolysis products, viz. indoles and isothiocyanates, are able to influence phase 1 and phase 2 biotransformation enzyme activities, thereby possibly influencing several processes related to chemical carcinogenesis, e.g. the metabolism, DNA-binding and mutagenic activity of promutagens. A reducing effect on tumor formation has been shown in rats and mice. The anticarcinogenic action of isothiocyanates and indoles depends upon many factors, such as the test system, the target tissue, the type of carcinogen challenge and the anticarcinogenic compound, their dosage, as well as the timing of the treatment. Most evidence concerning anticarcinogenic effects of glucosinolate hydrolysis products and brassica vegetables has come from studies in animals. Animal studies are invaluable in identifying and testing potential anticarcinogens. In addition, studies carried out in humans using high but still realistic human consumption levels of indoles and brassica vegetables have shown putative positive effects on health.
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Modelling the Consequences of Variability in Food Production Chains on Human Health
Article
  • May 2005
Epidemiological studies on the relation between fruit and vegetable intake and chronic diseases show variable results. In many studies a small protective effect is found for fruit and vegetable intake and the risk for cardiovascular diseases and cancers. In other studies these effects could not be found in a statistically significant way. Experimental animal and mechanistic studies with cell lines or in humans show often clear protective effects of many phytochemicals like e.g. glucosinolates, flavonoids and carotenoids. In this paper the effect of variability in the food production chain on the results of epidemiological studies as predicted by probabilistic simulation studies is presented. Even if a very strong protective effect of a phytochemical is assumed, this variability will lead to only very small, non-significant, protective effects to be found in epidemiological studies. The effect of different scenarios to improve human health has been investigated. Increasing the fruit and vegetable consumption will produce far less benefits when compared with a scenario of increasing the level of phytochemicals and reducing the variability in its content.
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Brassica Vegetables and Cancer Prevention
Article
  • Feb 1999
  • ADV EXP MED BIOL
This paper first gives an overview of the epidemiological data concerning the cancer-preventive effect of brassica vegetables, including cabbages, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. A protective effect of brassicas against cancer may be plausible due to their relatively high content of glucosinolates. Certain hydrolysis products of glucosinolates have shown anticarcinogenic properties. The results of six cohort studies and 74 case-control studies on the association between brassica consumption and cancer risk are summarized. The cohort studies showed inverse associations between the consumption of brassica’s and risk of lung cancer, stomach cancer, all cancers taken together. Of the case-control studies 64% showed an inverse association between consumption of one or more brassica vegetables and risk of cancer at various sites. Although the measured effects might have been distorted by various types of bias, it is concluded that a high consumption of brassica vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. This association appears to be most consistent for lung, stomach, colon and rectal cancer, and least consistent for prostatic, endometrial and ovarian cancer. It is not yet possible to resolve whether associations are to be attributed to brassica vegetables per se or to vegetables in general. Further epidemiological research should separate the anticarcinogenic effect of brassica vegetables from the effect of vegetables in general.
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Phytochemicals from Cruciferous Plants Protect against Cancer by Modulating Carcinogen Metabolism
Article
  • Dec 2001
Several epidemiologic studies suggest that consumption of cruciferous vegetables may be particularly effective (compared with total fruit and vegetable consumption) in reducing cancer risk at several organ sites. Crucifers that are widely consumed are especially rich in glucosinolates, which are converted by plant myrosinase and gastrointestinal microflora to isothiocyanates. A number of isothiocyanates and a limited number of glucosinolates that were examined effectively block chemical carcinogenesis in animal models. Many isothiocyanates are also potent inducers of phase 2 proteins. Substantial evidence supports the view that phase 2 enzyme induction is a highly effective strategy for reducing susceptibility to carcinogens. This conclusion has recently received strong molecular support from experiments on mice in which the specific transcription factor, nrf2, which is essential for induction of phase 2 proteins, was deleted. In these knock-out mice, the basal levels of phase 2 enzymes are very low and not inducible. Accordingly, these mice are much more susceptible than their wild-type counterparts to benzo[a]pyrene forestomach carcinogenesis and are not protected by phase 2 inducers. These experiments provide very strong evidence for a major role of phase 2 enzymes in controlling the risk of exposure to carcinogens. An increasing number of phase 2 proteins that exert a variety of protective mechanisms are being identified. Thus, in addition to detoxifying electrophiles, these proteins exercise versatile, long-lasting and catalytic antioxidant protection.
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Dealing with variability in food production chains: A tool to enhance the sensitivity of epidemiological studies on phytochemicals
Article
  • Feb 2003
Many epidemiological studies have tried to associate the intake of certain food products with a reduced risk for certain diseases. Results of these studies are often ambiguous, conflicting, or show very large deviations of trends. Nevertheless, a clear and often reproduced inverse association is observed between total vegetable and fruit consumption and cancer risk. Examples of components that have been indicated to have a potential protective effect in food and vegetables include antioxidants, allium compounds and glucosinolates. The food production chain can give a considerable variation in the level of bioactive components in the products that are consumed. In this paper the effects of this variability in levels of phytochemicals in food products on the sensitivity of epidemiological studies are assessed. Information on the effect of variation in different steps of the food production chain of Brassica vegetables on their glucosinolate content is used to estimate the distributions in the levels in the final product that is consumed. Monte Carlo simulations of an epidemiological cohort study with 30,000 people have been used to assess the likelihood of finding significant associations between food product intake and reduced cancer risk. By using the Monte Carlo simulation approach, it was shown that if information on the way of preparation of the products by the consumer was quantified, the statistical power of the study could at least be doubled. The statistical power could be increased by at least a factor of five if all variation of the food production chain could be accounted for. Variability in the level of protective components arising from the complete food production chain can be a major disturbing factor in the identification of associations between food intake and reduced risk for cancer. Monte Carlo simulation of the effect of the food production chain on epidemiological cohort studies has identified possible improvements in the set up of such studies. The actual effectiveness of food compounds already identified as cancer-protective by current imprecise methods is likely to be much greater than estimated at present.
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