Air pollution has been shown to reduce the growth and economic yield of a wide range of major crop species. In fact air pollutants can interfere with biochemical and physiological processes of plants, leading to quantitative alterations in photosynthetic pigments, antioxidative defense systems (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) and primary and secondary metabolites. Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) is an edible vegetable largely used in the Mediterranean diet. It is known that globe artichoke can have a marked health protective capacity; in fact it represents a natural source of phenolic acids, such as cynarin (1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid) and its biosynthetic precursor chlorogenic acid (5-caffeoylquinic acid), and flavonoids, such as luteolin, apigenin and its glucosides. In our study globe artichoke samples collected in an urban area close to a petrochemical plant at Gela (Sicily, Italy) have been analyzed with respect to the contaminant content (heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs), the content of photosynthetic pigments (total chlorophyll) and of antioxidants (β- carotene, ascorbate peroxidase and catalase), the polyphenolic profile (caffeoyl esters and flavonoids), as well as the antioxidant/free radical scavenger power (determined through Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power (FRAP), total phenols, Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), Beta Carotene Bleaching (BCB) and iron chelating activity). In fact this area suffers severe anthropogenic pressure, due to petrochemical plant located close to the town and several mechanical industries related to the refinery. Control samples were collected in an area far from industrial plants. The results obtained in this research clearly show that, in comparison with control plants, the samples from Gela present an higher content of heavy metals and PAHs, but also an higher amount of polyphenols, antioxidant enzymes, total chlorophyll and β-carotene. In conclusion our data seem to exclude that exposure to PAHs could influence the biochemical responses of globe artichoke plants and thus the quality characteristics of this food. However we have not to forget that the ingestion of food contaminated by heavy metals and PAHs represents an evident risks for human health
Biomolecular Effects of Environmental Pollution on Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.)
ZENA, ROBERTO;SMERIGLIO, ANTONELLA;DUGO, Giacomo;SAIJA, Antonina;TROMBETTA, Domenico
2012-01-01
Abstract
Air pollution has been shown to reduce the growth and economic yield of a wide range of major crop species. In fact air pollutants can interfere with biochemical and physiological processes of plants, leading to quantitative alterations in photosynthetic pigments, antioxidative defense systems (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) and primary and secondary metabolites. Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) is an edible vegetable largely used in the Mediterranean diet. It is known that globe artichoke can have a marked health protective capacity; in fact it represents a natural source of phenolic acids, such as cynarin (1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid) and its biosynthetic precursor chlorogenic acid (5-caffeoylquinic acid), and flavonoids, such as luteolin, apigenin and its glucosides. In our study globe artichoke samples collected in an urban area close to a petrochemical plant at Gela (Sicily, Italy) have been analyzed with respect to the contaminant content (heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs), the content of photosynthetic pigments (total chlorophyll) and of antioxidants (β- carotene, ascorbate peroxidase and catalase), the polyphenolic profile (caffeoyl esters and flavonoids), as well as the antioxidant/free radical scavenger power (determined through Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power (FRAP), total phenols, Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), Beta Carotene Bleaching (BCB) and iron chelating activity). In fact this area suffers severe anthropogenic pressure, due to petrochemical plant located close to the town and several mechanical industries related to the refinery. Control samples were collected in an area far from industrial plants. The results obtained in this research clearly show that, in comparison with control plants, the samples from Gela present an higher content of heavy metals and PAHs, but also an higher amount of polyphenols, antioxidant enzymes, total chlorophyll and β-carotene. In conclusion our data seem to exclude that exposure to PAHs could influence the biochemical responses of globe artichoke plants and thus the quality characteristics of this food. However we have not to forget that the ingestion of food contaminated by heavy metals and PAHs represents an evident risks for human healthPubblicazioni consigliate
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