1. Introduction
White asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a highly valuable vegetable, especially in Germany. From botanical point of view, they are “developmentally immature” and retain their high physiological activity in postharvest. Its popularity is mainly due to its unique flavour and its high content of health promoting secondary plant compounds such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Due to air pollution-induced stratospheric ozone depletion, total UV-B (280–315 nm) radiation drastically increased in recent years.
Though only a small portion of the total solar spectrum, UV-B provokes a variety of photo-biological. There are many reports on potential consequences of an increased UV-B radiation on plants; however, understanding of its effect on biosynthesis of secondary plant metabolites and the underlying mechanisms is rather limited. At present, ultraviolet irradiation(UV-C 200–280 nm; UV-B 280–315 nm) is applied during postharvest for fruits and vegetables to eliminate food-borne pathogens or to delay postharvest ripening and senescence processes. Recent studies reported elicitor effects of low UV-B radiation,
triggering distinct changes in the secondary plant metabolism.This response particularly results in an accumulation of phenoliccompounds. Based on their chemical structure, phenolic compounds act as scavengers of free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) being overproduced under oxidative stress. Moreover, they may protect plants against high irradiation, especially in case of UV exposure. In postharvest, synthesis of phenolic compounds may be specifically stimulated by low dosages of UV radiation.This effect was exemplarily reported for flavonols in onion,for anthocyanins in peach , strawberry, and apple , as well as for flavonoids in brassica sprouts and black currant. In the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds, several enzymes play an important role. The phenylpropanoid pathway is initiated by the key enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5). As an essential enzyme in plant defence, PAL can be activated by various stressors, triggering biosynthesis of phenolic compounds. UV-B triggered PAL synthesis was shown, e. g. in rice Arabidopsis, or Betula pendula leaves. Peroxidases (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) are enzymes that either degrade phenolic compounds or activate phenolic precursors for cross-linking or rigidifying cell walls. Furthermore, they are assumed to have free radical scavenging properties, a feature that is influenced by stress, such as UV irradiation. found that an increased peroxidase activity highly correlatedwith increased tolerance to UV radiation. Yannarelli, Gallego, and Tomaro (2006), Lu, Duan, Zhang, Korpelainen, and Li (2009), and Ren, Duan, Zhang, Korpelainen, and Li (2010) supported this assumption and reported the ability of peroxidases to scavenge free radicals and, thus, alleviate UV stress. UV irradiation-induced changes in polyphenol metabolism depend on dosage and duration of stress. Moreover, these changes are also effected by the physiological age of the respective tissue. All these different influences lead to a great variability in all UV-Binduced plant responses. A high gradient of physiological activities within the stemis also known for asparagus spears resulting in different
level of enzyme activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of postharvest UV-B irradiation on the enzyme activities of PAL and POD, and the mediated flavonoid profile of asparagus spears in morphological different sections (apical and base). For this purpose, different radiation fluence rates and adaptation times were applied. Hence, this study focuses on the age dependence of UV-B effects in physiologically immature and in fully developed tissue of asparagus spears. Furthermore, targeted low-dosage UV-B treatment in postharvest may serve as a useful tool to generate vegetables enriched with functional healthpromoting properties
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant material and UV-B treatments
Freshly harvested white asparagus spears of the cultivar ‘Gijnlim’, directly obtained from the “Erzeugergruppe Beelitz” (Beelitz, Germany), were carefully hand-washed, cut to a length of 22 cm and randomly separated into batches (250 g with three repetitions). To apply low to moderate UV-stress and to evaluate temporal dynamics of plants' stress reactions, UV-B dosages and duration of adaptation times were chosen according to various preliminary experiments. Hence, samples were subjected to UV-B irradiation (average fluence rate of 8.2 Ws m−2 at a mean distance of 30 cm) at dosages of either 0.54 kJ m−2 (Low=L) or 1.08 kJ m−2 (Medium=M) using a UV-B fluorescence light source (FL-20SE, 305–310 nm; Philips GmbH, Hamburg, Germany), while control spears were kept untreated. After adaptation times (i.e. time to react on given treatments) of 2 h (indicating fast reactions of primary plant compounds) or 22 h (slower reactions of secondary metabolites), controls and UV-B treated spearswere severed into two morphologically different sections, i.e. the base (0–11 cm) and the apical (11–22 cm) sections. For the determination of PAL and POD activities fresh material was used and stored at−80 °C until analysis. For the determination of the phenolic compound profile, spear sections were lyophilised (Christ Alpha 1–4, Christ, Osterode, Germany) and ground for subsequent extraction and analysis.
2.2. Enzyme activity
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL; EC 4.3.1.5.) was determined according. Extraction of the enzyme was carried out by grinding frozen samples with sterile sea sand and a borate buffer solution (pH 8.8) at 4 °C and, thereafter, centrifuged at 11000 rpm at 4 °C for 15 min. For determination of PAL activity, the enzyme substrate phenylalanine was added to the enzyme extract and the solution was incubated at 37 °C for 30 min. Afterwards, the degradation of phenylalanine to hydroxycinnamic acid was measured spectrophotometrically (LKB-Novaspek II, Pharmacia, Freiburg,Germany) at a wavelength of 290 nm for 60min. PAL activity was expressed as pkat mg−1 protein. Protein assay was conducted according to. Peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7) activity was determined according to using guaiacol as substrate. Samples were extracted by grinding frozen samples with sterile sea sand in PBS buffer (pH 7.2) at 4 °C. After adding the respective substrate, enzyme solution reacted immediately in presence of hydrogen peroxide and changes in optical density were measured spectrophotometrically (LKB-Novaspek II, Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany) at 436 nm for 1 min. POD activity was expressed as nkat mg−1 protein. Protein assay was conducted according to.
2.3. Extraction of flavonoids
For the analysis of flavonoids, a modified extraction according to was conducted by using acidified methanol (0.1% hydrochloric acid). Aliquots of 0.5 g ground sample were vigorously mixed with 3 mL of acidified methanol and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was collected in a 10 mL volumetric flask. The residue was washed twice with 3 mL acidified methanol and subsequently centrifuged for 15 min. Supernatants were collected and brought to a final volume of 10 mL. These extracts were used for the determination of the phenolic compound profiles.
2.4. Analysis of the flavonoids using HPLC–DAD
Concentrations of selected flavonoids (rutin, kaempferol, quercetin and its derivatives- see Fig. 1)were determined byHPLC–DAD (analytical HPLC, Shimadzu Scientific Instrument, Inc. Columbia,MD, USA; equipped with an autosampler, quaternary HPLC pump and diode array detector). Flavonoids were separated on a Prodigy column (150 mm×3.0 mm, ODS 3, 5 μm, 100 A; Phenomex Ltd., Aschaffenburg, Germany) with a two solvent mobile phase gradient (eluent A=water/acetic acid/acetonitrile [94.5/0.5/5; v/v/v]; eluent B=acetic acid/ acetonitrile [5/95; v/v]). The eluent gradient used for all extracts was described as follows: 0–5 min, 0% B; 5–9 min, 0–4% B; 9–15 min, 4% B; 15–30 min, 4–8% B; 30–
45 min, 8–22% B; 45–50 min, 22–28% B; 50–55 min, 28% B; 55–65 min, 28–45% B. Aliquots (2 mL) of the extract were dried under a stream of nitrogen and then re-dissolved in 0.5 mLmethanol. The resulting extract was purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using Polyamid 6–Chromabond cartridges (6 mL, 500 mg; Machery & Nagel, Düren, Germany) pre-conditioned with 2×5 mL of 70% methanol and 2×5 mL of water.
(กราฟ)
Fig. 1. HPLC–DAD chromatogramof asparagus at awavelength of 370 nm (1=quercetin-3,4′-O-diglucoside; 2=rutin; 3=quercetin-4′-O-monoglucoside; 4=quercetin; 5=kaempferol).
Interfering compoundswere elutedwith 2×5 mL of water,while the flavonoids were obtained by elution with 2×5 mL ofmethanol/acetic acid/ watermixture (90/5/5, v/v/v). Samples were dried by a rotary evaporator at reduced pressure and re-dissolved in 0.5 mL methanol (HPLC grade). The injection volume for HPLC–DAD was 20 μL, and the flow rate sets at 1 mL min−1. Quercetin and its derivatives were determined at wavelengths of 325 nm and 370 nm, respectively. Compounds were quantified as quercetin, quercetin-4′-O-monoglucoside (QMG), and quercetin-3,4′-O-diglucoside (QDG). Total concentration of flavonoids (quercetin and its derivatives) was calculated from a calibration curve obtained from a diluted 1mM standard solution of the respective reference compound. Results were expressed as milligrammes per gramme dry weight (mg g−1 DW).
2.5. Statistical calculations
Data were evaluated with SPSS 13.0 (SPSS Inc., USA). Treatment means were statistically compared using the Tukey test (pb0.05). In figures, mean variability of data was indicated by the standard deviation. The experiment was conducted with three replicates per UV-B treatment and adaptation time. Non-treated spears were used as control.
1. Introduction
White asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a highly valuable vegetable, especially in Germany. From botanical point of view, they are “developmentally immature” and retain their high physiological activity in postharvest. Its popularity is mainly due to its unique flavour and its high content of health promoting secondary plant compounds such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Due to air pollution-induced stratospheric ozone depletion, total UV-B (280–315 nm) radiation drastically increased in recent years.
Though only a small portion of the total solar spectrum, UV-B provokes a variety of photo-biological. There are many reports on potential consequences of an increased UV-B radiation on plants; however, understanding of its effect on biosynthesis of secondary plant metabolites and the underlying mechanisms is rather limited. At present, ultraviolet irradiation(UV-C 200–280 nm; UV-B 280–315 nm) is applied during postharvest for fruits and vegetables to eliminate food-borne pathogens or to delay postharvest ripening and senescence processes. Recent studies reported elicitor effects of low UV-B radiation,
triggering distinct changes in the secondary plant metabolism.This response particularly results in an accumulation of phenoliccompounds. Based on their chemical structure, phenolic compounds act as scavengers of free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) being overproduced under oxidative stress. Moreover, they may protect plants against high irradiation, especially in case of UV exposure. In postharvest, synthesis of phenolic compounds may be specifically stimulated by low dosages of UV radiation.This effect was exemplarily reported for flavonols in onion,for anthocyanins in peach , strawberry, and apple , as well as for flavonoids in brassica sprouts and black currant. In the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds, several enzymes play an important role. The phenylpropanoid pathway is initiated by the key enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5). As an essential enzyme in plant defence, PAL can be activated by various stressors, triggering biosynthesis of phenolic compounds. UV-B triggered PAL synthesis was shown, e. g. in rice Arabidopsis, or Betula pendula leaves. Peroxidases (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) are enzymes that either degrade phenolic compounds or activate phenolic precursors for cross-linking or rigidifying cell walls. Furthermore, they are assumed to have free radical scavenging properties, a feature that is influenced by stress, such as UV irradiation. found that an increased peroxidase activity highly correlatedwith increased tolerance to UV radiation. Yannarelli, Gallego, and Tomaro (2006), Lu, Duan, Zhang, Korpelainen, and Li (2009), and Ren, Duan, Zhang, Korpelainen, and Li (2010) supported this assumption and reported the ability of peroxidases to scavenge free radicals and, thus, alleviate UV stress. UV irradiation-induced changes in polyphenol metabolism depend on dosage and duration of stress. Moreover, these changes are also effected by the physiological age of the respective tissue. All these different influences lead to a great variability in all UV-Binduced plant responses. A high gradient of physiological activities within the stemis also known for asparagus spears resulting in different
level of enzyme activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of postharvest UV-B irradiation on the enzyme activities of PAL and POD, and the mediated flavonoid profile of asparagus spears in morphological different sections (apical and base). For this purpose, different radiation fluence rates and adaptation times were applied. Hence, this study focuses on the age dependence of UV-B effects in physiologically immature and in fully developed tissue of asparagus spears. Furthermore, targeted low-dosage UV-B treatment in postharvest may serve as a useful tool to generate vegetables enriched with functional healthpromoting properties
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant material and UV-B treatments
Freshly harvested white asparagus spears of the cultivar ‘Gijnlim’, directly obtained from the “Erzeugergruppe Beelitz” (Beelitz, Germany), were carefully hand-washed, cut to a length of 22 cm and randomly separated into batches (250 g with three repetitions). To apply low to moderate UV-stress and to evaluate temporal dynamics of plants' stress reactions, UV-B dosages and duration of adaptation times were chosen according to various preliminary experiments. Hence, samples were subjected to UV-B irradiation (average fluence rate of 8.2 Ws m−2 at a mean distance of 30 cm) at dosages of either 0.54 kJ m−2 (Low=L) or 1.08 kJ m−2 (Medium=M) using a UV-B fluorescence light source (FL-20SE, 305–310 nm; Philips GmbH, Hamburg, Germany), while control spears were kept untreated. After adaptation times (i.e. time to react on given treatments) of 2 h (indicating fast reactions of primary plant compounds) or 22 h (slower reactions of secondary metabolites), controls and UV-B treated spearswere severed into two morphologically different sections, i.e. the base (0–11 cm) and the apical (11–22 cm) sections. For the determination of PAL and POD activities fresh material was used and stored at−80 °C until analysis. For the determination of the phenolic compound profile, spear sections were lyophilised (Christ Alpha 1–4, Christ, Osterode, Germany) and ground for subsequent extraction and analysis.
2.2. Enzyme activity
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL; EC 4.3.1.5.) was determined according. Extraction of the enzyme was carried out by grinding frozen samples with sterile sea sand and a borate buffer solution (pH 8.8) at 4 °C and, thereafter, centrifuged at 11000 rpm at 4 °C for 15 min. For determination of PAL activity, the enzyme substrate phenylalanine was added to the enzyme extract and the solution was incubated at 37 °C for 30 min. Afterwards, the degradation of phenylalanine to hydroxycinnamic acid was measured spectrophotometrically (LKB-Novaspek II, Pharmacia, Freiburg,Germany) at a wavelength of 290 nm for 60min. PAL activity was expressed as pkat mg−1 protein. Protein assay was conducted according to. Peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7) activity was determined according to using guaiacol as substrate. Samples were extracted by grinding frozen samples with sterile sea sand in PBS buffer (pH 7.2) at 4 °C. After adding the respective substrate, enzyme solution reacted immediately in presence of hydrogen peroxide and changes in optical density were measured spectrophotometrically (LKB-Novaspek II, Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany) at 436 nm for 1 min. POD activity was expressed as nkat mg−1 protein. Protein assay was conducted according to.
2.3. Extraction of flavonoids
For the analysis of flavonoids, a modified extraction according to was conducted by using acidified methanol (0.1% hydrochloric acid). Aliquots of 0.5 g ground sample were vigorously mixed with 3 mL of acidified methanol and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was collected in a 10 mL volumetric flask. The residue was washed twice with 3 mL acidified methanol and subsequently centrifuged for 15 min. Supernatants were collected and brought to a final volume of 10 mL. These extracts were used for the determination of the phenolic compound profiles.
2.4. Analysis of the flavonoids using HPLC–DAD
Concentrations of selected flavonoids (rutin, kaempferol, quercetin and its derivatives- see Fig. 1)were determined byHPLC–DAD (analytical HPLC, Shimadzu Scientific Instrument, Inc. Columbia,MD, USA; equipped with an autosampler, quaternary HPLC pump and diode array detector). Flavonoids were separated on a Prodigy column (150 mm×3.0 mm, ODS 3, 5 μm, 100 A; Phenomex Ltd., Aschaffenburg, Germany) with a two solvent mobile phase gradient (eluent A=water/acetic acid/acetonitrile [94.5/0.5/5; v/v/v]; eluent B=acetic acid/ acetonitrile [5/95; v/v]). The eluent gradient used for all extracts was described as follows: 0–5 min, 0% B; 5–9 min, 0–4% B; 9–15 min, 4% B; 15–30 min, 4–8% B; 30–
45 min, 8–22% B; 45–50 min, 22–28% B; 50–55 min, 28% B; 55–65 min, 28–45% B. Aliquots (2 mL) of the extract were dried under a stream of nitrogen and then re-dissolved in 0.5 mLmethanol. The resulting extract was purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using Polyamid 6–Chromabond cartridges (6 mL, 500 mg; Machery & Nagel, Düren, Germany) pre-conditioned with 2×5 mL of 70% methanol and 2×5 mL of water.
(กราฟ)
Fig. 1. HPLC–DAD chromatogramof asparagus at awavelength of 370 nm (1=quercetin-3,4′-O-diglucoside; 2=rutin; 3=quercetin-4′-O-monoglucoside; 4=quercetin; 5=kaempferol).
Interfering compoundswere elutedwith 2×5 mL of water,while the flavonoids were obtained by elution with 2×5 mL ofmethanol/acetic acid/ watermixture (90/5/5, v/v/v). Samples were dried by a rotary evaporator at reduced pressure and re-dissolved in 0.5 mL methanol (HPLC grade). The injection volume for HPLC–DAD was 20 μL, and the flow rate sets at 1 mL min−1. Quercetin and its derivatives were determined at wavelengths of 325 nm and 370 nm, respectively. Compounds were quantified as quercetin, quercetin-4′-O-monoglucoside (QMG), and quercetin-3,4′-O-diglucoside (QDG). Total concentration of flavonoids (quercetin and its derivatives) was calculated from a calibration curve obtained from a diluted 1mM standard solution of the respective reference compound. Results were expressed as milligrammes per gramme dry weight (mg g−1 DW).
2.5. Statistical calculations
Data were evaluated with SPSS 13.0 (SPSS Inc., USA). Treatment means were statistically compared using the Tukey test (pb0.05). In figures, mean variability of data was indicated by the standard deviation. The experiment was conducted with three replicates per UV-B treatment and adaptation time. Non-treated spears were used as control.
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