Bioactive constituents of Allium vineale L. accessions from Eastern Turkey

Abstract

• A. vineale accessions had higher phenolic and antioxidant capacity than A. schoenoprasum. • A. vineale had high DPPH free radical-scavenging activity. • Bioactive contents of A. vineale accessions collected from different locations exhibited significant variation. • Protocatechuic acid was detected as dominant phenolic compound. • A. vineale can be introduced in Breeding programs to increase antioxidant activity. Edible parts of Allium s are rich sources of health promoting bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants. These compounds are known to promote human health by reducing the risk of various cancer, cardiovascular and brain and diabetes diseases. Allium vineale is an edible wild Allium species collected from nature and used in herbed cheese production. Quality of herbed cheese is associated with A. vineale leaves, the main ingredient used as fresh or dried in the process of cheese production. The aim of this study was to evaluate bioactive constituents in above ground organs of 10 accessions from an A. vineale germplasm collected from Van province of Turkey. Each accession was represented with 10 plants in the analyses for bioactive compounds. It was found that A. vineale accessions were significantly different from each other for their bioactive content levels. Statistically significant differences were found among the accessions for total phenolic content and antioxidant activities. On average, A. vineale samples contained 60.11 g GAE kg −1 total phenolic compound and 98.84 mmol TR kg −1 total antioxidant capacity. The main phenolic compound detected in A. vineale was protocatechuic acid (∼221 g kg −1 ). The findings obtained from this study provide an opportunity for selecting genetically superior accessions with high bioactive compound production as starting materials in the improvement of new A. vineale cultivars suited for controlled cultivation.