Search Results (8)

The Brassicaceae family includes a wide range of horticultural crops of economic and traditional importance, consumed either fresh, cooked, or fermented. Cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. capitata) is one of the most important crops of the family. The present review analyzes the most important phytochemicals present in cabbage, focusing on variation of phytochemical composition between cultivars of B. oleraceae var. capitata f. alba, B. oleraceae var. capitata f. rubra, B. oleraceae var. capitata f. acuta, and B. oleraceae var. capitata f. sabauda. Cabbage form and cultivars significantly affect phytochemical compositions. B. oleraceae var. capitata f. rubra cultivars are generally great sources of phenolic compounds, especially anthocyanins, whereas B. oleraceae var. capitata f. alba cultivars display the highest concentration of glucosinolates; nevertheless, their levels are also dependent on the specific cultivar. B. oleraceae var. capitata f. acuta cultivars may be considered advantageous due to their high glucosinolate content and consistent phytochemical composition. Recognizing the benefits of specific cultivars can be valuable for consumers seeking a healthier lifestyle, as well as for scientists aiming to enhance cultivars through breeding programs or use plants’ extracts to produce high quality pigments and dietary supplements. Full article

An open-field study evaluated the effects of four biostimulants (Asahi, Optysil, Optycal, and Tytanit) on the yield and chemical composition of two white cabbage cultivars (‘Caraflex’ and ‘Alfredo’). Although the biostimulants did not significantly impact the marketable yield, all treatments led to a significant increase in ascorbic acid content. The influence on dry matter, sugars, phenols, and antioxidant activity varied by cultivar but generally did not result in inferior outcomes compared to the control. The effect on nitrate levels also varied, with Optysil and Asahi showing some adverse effects depending on the cultivar. Full article

Climate change has a significant impact on the agricultural sector, negatively affecting plants’ growth and development, with predicted strong consequences on food availability in the future. Although we are experiencing more frequent and intense heavy rainfall events, a major contributor to field flooding, there is still not much known about the impact of these events on different crops. In this study, we investigated the effects of waterlogging on a model plant white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba), with the aim to follow its response to both single and recurrent short-term (72-h length) waterlogging, as well as to track difference in the sensitivity between plants in different growth stages (38- and 48-day-old plants). In our 22-day experiment, settled under fully controlled conditions (16 h day/8 h night, 25 °C day/20 °C night, 60–70% relative air humidity, 250 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ photosynthetic active radiation), with the aim to more comprehensively recognize consequences of waterlogging on plants, we measured changes in plants on multiple levels: (i) within its morphological traits (number and length of leaves, leaf area, and blade width), (ii) within chlorophyll fluorescence and multispectral traits (20 parameters), (iii) following the levels of plant stress parameters (salicylic acid, abscisic acid, proline, and total polyphenols), and (iv) following changes in the plants’ elemental and mineral composition. According to our results, white cabbage was shown not to be very sensitive to waterlogging, with only plants exposed to repeated waterlogging showing signs of the congestion stress. These signs, observed in the changes of molecular stress parameters salicylic and abscisic acids, were not so clearly evident at the aboveground level. We did not observe changes in the plants’ morphologies, nor their photosynthetic performance. In addition, removal of waterlogging stress resulted in complete recovery of our model plants, suggesting a prompt adaptation response of white cabbage. With the projected increased frequency of occurrence of flooding events, it will become increasingly more important to recognize crops being highly sensitive to flooding with the aim to try to adapt to the changing climate. Full article

This study was aimed to improve nutritional, functional and consumer safety aspects of cabbage powder (CP). White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba) was dehydrated to CP following microwave heating, blanching, alkali or acid washing treatments. The results for nutrients and mineral composition of raw and processed CP elucidated raw CP to exhibit significantly (p < 0.05) higher amounts of protein (12.2%), dietary fiber (25.2%), Na (52 mg/100 g), Ca (355 mg/100 g), K (286 mg/100 g), Fe (14 mg/100 g) and Zn (32 mg/100 g). Among different processing techniques, microwave treatment resulted in a higher rate of reduction for alkaloids, oxalates, tannins and phytates contents, i.e., 77%, 85%, 85%, and 86%, respectively. Likewise, microwave treatment was found more effective in reducing residual levels of neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, organophosphates including imidacloprid, cypermethrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos and deltamethrin in cabbage in the range of 0.98–0.12 ppm, 1.22–0.23 ppm, 1.03–0.15 ppm, 1.97–0.43 ppm, and 2.12–0.36 ppm, respectively. CP supplementation at the rate of 5% in unleavened flatbreads was observed to maintain textural and sensory attributes of the product. The results suggest microwave heating as a cost-effective technique to reduce toxicants load in cabbage powder. Further, ~5% supplementation of CP in wheat flour may also improve nutritional and functional properties of the baked goods. Full article

Black spot disease, caused by Alternaria brassicicola in Brassica species, is one of the most devastating diseases all over the world, especially since there is no known fully resistant Brassica cultivar. In this study, the visualization of black spot disease development on Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba (white cabbage) leaves and subsequent ultrastructural, molecular and physiological investigations were conducted. Inter- and intracellular hyphae growth within leaf tissues led to the loss of host cell integrity and various levels of organelle disintegration. Severe symptoms of chloroplast damage included the degeneration of chloroplast envelope and grana, and the loss of electron denseness by stroma at the advanced stage of infection. Transcriptional profiling of infected leaves revealed that photosynthesis was the most negatively regulated biological process. However, in infected leaves, chlorophyll and carotenoid content did not decrease until 48 hpi, and several chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters, such as photosystem II quantum yield (F_v/F_m), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), or plant vitality parameter (Rdf) decreased significantly at 24 and 48 hpi compared to control leaves. Our results indicate that the initial stages of interaction between B. oleracea and A. brassicicola are not uniform within an inoculation site and show a complexity of host responses and fungal attempts to overcome host cell defense mechanisms. The downregulation of photosynthesis at the early stage of this susceptible interaction suggests that it may be a part of a host defense strategy, or, alternatively, that chloroplasts are targets for the unknown virulence factor(s) of A. brassicicola. However, the observed decrease of photosynthetic efficiency at the later stages of infection is a result of the fungus-induced necrotic lesion expansion. Full article

Keeping green leaf color at the time of harvest is one of the important traits for breeding of Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba, and this trait is related to low anthocyanin contents. To understand the differential accumulation of anthocyanins in cabbage, we selected high anthocyanin accumulators (HAAs) and low anthocyanin accumulator (LAAs) of cabbages and examined the anthocyanin content and the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes. Among many genes investigated, BoDFR1 was found to be closely related to anthocyanin accumulation, even under low temperature (LT) conditions. BoDFR1 sequence analyses between HAAs and LAAs revealed that there is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (1118T/A) in the coding sequence, which substitutes one amino acid from Leu261 to His261; we named BoDFR1 with His261 substitution as BoDFR1v. This amino acid substitution did not affect dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) activity and substrate specificity, but the polymorphism showed tight association to the BoDFR1 expression, i.e., high level expression of BoDFR1 and low level expression of BoDFR1v under LT conditions. The high levels of BoDFR1 expression were due to the high levels of BoMYB114 and BobHLH expressions combined with low level expression of BoMYBL2, a repressor MYB. On the other hand, low levels of BoDFR1v expression seemed to be related to very low level expressions of BoMYB114 and BobHLH combined with a high level expression of BoMYBL2. It seems that different expression levels of these regulatory genes for MBW (MYB-bHLH-WD40) complex between HAAs and LAAs regulate BoDFR expression and anthocyanin accumulation. Using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) between BoDFR1 and BoDFR1v, molecular markers for PCR and high resolution melt analyses were developed and validated to distinguish between HAAs and LAAs. Combined use of the BoDFR1 SNP marker with other stress markers, such as a cold tolerant marker, will greatly improve cabbage breeding. Full article

Crops, such as white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata (L.) f. alba), are often infested by herbivorous insects that consume the leaves directly or lay eggs with subsequent injury by caterpillars. The plants can produce various defensive metabolites or free radicals that repel the insects to avert further damage. To study the production and effects of these compounds, large white cabbage butterflies, Pieris brassicae and flea beetles, Phyllotreta nemorum, were captured in a cabbage field and applied to plants cultivated in the lab. After insect infestation, leaves were collected and UV/Vis spectrophotometry and HPLC used to determine the content of stress molecules (superoxide), primary metabolites (amino acids), and secondary metabolites (phenolic acids and flavonoids). The highest level of superoxide was measured in plants exposed to fifty flea beetles. These plants also manifested a higher content of phenylalanine, a substrate for the synthesis of phenolic compounds, and in activation of total phenolics and flavonoid production. The levels of specific phenolic acids and flavonoids had higher variability when the dominant increase was in the flavonoid, quercetin. The leaves after flea beetle attack also showed an increase in ascorbic acid which is an important nutrient of cabbage. Full article

Brassica vegetables such as cabbage or pak choi contain alkenyl glucosinolates which can release epithionitriles and to a lesser degree isothiocyanates upon enzymatic hydrolysis. Here, for the first time, the metabolism of an epithionitrile was investigated in humans, namely 1-cyano-2,3-epithiopropane (CETP). After consumption of Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba and Brassica carinata sprouts, the main urinary metabolite of CETP was identified as N-acetyl-S-(3-cyano-2-(methylsulfanyl)propyl-cysteine using an UHPLC-ESI-QToF-MS approach and synthesis of the metabolite. This urinary epithionitrile metabolite is an S-methylated mercapturic acid. No other metabolites were detected. Then, in a preliminary pilot experiment the excretion kinetics of CETP were investigated in three volunteers. After consumption of a B. carinata sprout preparation containing 50.8 µmol of CETP, urinary N-acetyl-S-(3-cyano-2-(methylsulfanyl)propyl-cysteine concentrations were the highest three hours after consumption, ranging from 23.9 to 37.2 µM, and declined thereafter. Thus, epithionitriles are bioavailable compounds that are metabolized similarly to isothiocyanates by the mercapturic acid pathway. In the future, more epithionitrile metabolites should be identified and the pharmacokinetics of these important class of dietary compounds should be assessed in more detail. Full article