Carbohydrates Components of Some Italian Local Landraces: Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Silvia Lisciani,Stefania Marconi,Luisa Marletta,Cecilia Rossetti,Olindo Temperini,Loretta Gambelli,Emanuela Camilli,Paolo Gabrielli,Altero Aguzzi,Alessandra Durazzo

doi:10.3390/su9101922

Abstract

Garlic is one of the most widespread and ancient medicinal plants. Its health benefits are due to its chemical components, and among these is carbohydrate, whose characteristics have been so far little investigated. The aim of this study is to typify the various components of carbohydrate (starch, individual sugars, fructans, and total dietary fibre) in four commonly consumed “Italian local landraces”: Bianco Piacentino, Rosso di Castelliri, Rosso di Sulmona, Rosso di Proceno, which are grown in two different geographical areas—Viterbo and Alvito—under the same agronomic conditions. This study will also evaluate how genotype and the cultivation area can affect the profile of the carbohydrate components of these landrace strains. Regarding unavailable carbohydrates, all of the varieties showed appreciable contents of fructans, the most representative component, which ranged from 45.8 to 54.4 g/100 g d.w. In contrast, total dietary fibre values varied from 9.1 to 13.1 g/100 g d.w. in Rosso di Castelliri and Bianco Piacentino, respectively, which are both grown in Viterbo. As for starch, only some traces were found, while the amount of total sugars ranged between 2.12 and 3.27 g/100 g d.w., with higher levels of sucrose. Our findings could provide important information that may be adopted to enhance and promote the quality of some local Italian garlic landraces through highlighting the influence that the cultivar and the environmental conditions can have on carbohydrates components.

Highlights

Garlic (Allium Savitum L.) is a vegetable bulb native to central Asia and belonging to the plant family Amaryllidaceae [1]
This study is aimed at estimating the carbohydrate components of four Italian landraces of garlic, which are all qualified on the national market, and some are enrolled in the Italian Register of the varieties
Our findings have revealed that even the carbohydrates of the four Italian varieties chosen for the study can be influenced, like other nutrients, by the genotype and the cultivation area, and that their individual components are differently affected by these factors

Summary

Introduction

Garlic (Allium Savitum L.) is a vegetable bulb native to central Asia and belonging to the plant family Amaryllidaceae [1]. It is widely used in gastronomy for dressing and spicing dishes. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) [2], its global production is close to 15 million tons, with China as world’s first export and production country. Between 2008 and 2013, China’s shipments increased from 13 to 18 million tons; in second place, just behind, are Spain and Argentina, while the Netherlands play a redistribution function of the product from other countries (China and Argentina), and Italy ranks fifth [3]. A lot of Italian varieties of this bulb, known and appreciated in many national and international dishes, risk disappearing

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion