Abstract
The Valparaiso region in Chile was decreed a zone affected by catastrophe in 2019 as a consequence of one of the driest seasons of the last 50 years. In this study, three varieties (‘Alfa-INIA’, ‘California-INIA’, and one landrace, ‘Local Navidad’) of kabuli-type chickpea seeds produced in 2018 (control) and 2019 (climate-related catastrophe, hereafter named water stress) were evaluated for their grain yield. Furthermore, the flavonoid profile of both free and esterified phenolic extracts was determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the concentration of the main flavonoid, biochanin A, was determined using liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The grain yield was decreased by up to 25 times in 2019. The concentration of biochanin A was up to 3.2 times higher in samples from the second season (water stress). This study demonstrates that water stress induces biosynthesis of biochanin A. However, positive changes in the biochanin A concentration are overshadowed by negative changes in the grain yield. Therefore, water stress, which may be worsened by climate change in the upcoming years, may jeopardize both the production of chickpeas and the supply of biochanin A, a bioactive compound that can be used to produce dietary supplements and/or nutraceuticals.
Highlights
The International Year of Pulses 2016 highlighted the importance of pulses for human health, sustainability, and, most importantly, food security
Considering that the Valparaiso region was decreed a zone affected by catastrophe in 2019 as a consequence of one of the driest seasons of the last 50 years [17], the importance of chickpea in the context of food security, and its potential as a feedstock to produce nutraceuticals and/or dietary supplements, the present study aimed to elucidate the effect of water stress on grain yield, flavonoid profile, and biochanin A concentration, the most abundant bioactive flavonoid of chickpea
The grain yield decreased by up to 25 times (19- to 25-fold lower yield in 2019), with the ‘Alfa-INIA’ variety the most affected by the water stress (Table 1)
Summary
The International Year of Pulses 2016 highlighted the importance of pulses for human health, sustainability, and, most importantly, food security. A recent study [1] aiming to compare the frequency and quantity of different types of food consumed by adults from Santiago, Chile, before and during confinement, demonstrated that the consumption frequency of legume seeds (two to four times per week) in the capital of Chile increased during the COVID-19 pandemic year from 26% (pre-pandemic period) to 33.7% (lockdown period), confirming the critical role of legume seeds in food security. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the most important pulse [2]. The harvested area increased 3.3 times from 2017 to 2019 [3], which may indicate a return to pulses production in the future
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