Abstract
Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus (L. fit.) Link var. palmensis (Christ) Hansen and Sunding is a perennial fodder shrub naturalized in a range of environments for its valuable forage traits. This research was aimed at evaluating the seasonal variation in chemical composition, bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties in edible biomass components (leaves, twigs, flowers, and pods) of tagasaste grown in a Mediterranean environment of Sardinia (Italy). Season influenced the composition of edible biomass and chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of leaves and twigs. On average, crude protein concentration was 200, 97 and 66 g kg-1 dry matter, in leaves, twigs and mature pods, respectively. Neutral and acid detergent fibre were high in twigs. In late summer, antioxidant capacity of leaves reached 44 mmol/100 g dry weight of Trolox equivalent and was correlated with the levels of total phenolics and flavonoids. Research highlights that the edible biomass of tagasaste is a high quality feed source available during the most critical forage shortage for rainfed farming systems of Mediterranean climatic areas. Key words: Bioactive compounds, forage quality, plant parts, polyphenols, tree lucerne.
Highlights
The indigenous Chamaecytisus from the Canary Islands comprises a taxonomic complex (Francisco-Ortega et al, 1992); the form that is endemic to La Palma is commonly known as "tagasaste" (Chamaecytisus proliferus (L. fit.) Link var. palmensis (Christ) Hansen and Sunding), which is cultivated as a fodder tree and has achieved agricultural importance around the world, in areas of Australia and New Zealand (Chinea et al, 2013)
Edible biomass was subdivided in leaflets, young twigs, flowers, green pods, and mature pods
Regarding seasonal chemical composition of tagasaste, our data if expressed as averaged means of leaves and twigs are quite similar to those reported from South Africa, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Australia and New Zealand (Borens and Poppi, 1990; Lindeque and Rethman, 1998; Ventura et al, 2002; Becholie et al, 2005; Assefa et al, 2012)
Summary
The indigenous Chamaecytisus from the Canary Islands comprises a taxonomic complex (Francisco-Ortega et al, 1992); the form that is endemic to La Palma is commonly known as "tagasaste" (Chamaecytisus proliferus (L. fit.) Link var. Palmensis (Christ) Hansen and Sunding), which is cultivated as a fodder tree and has achieved agricultural importance around the world, in areas of Australia and New Zealand (Chinea et al, 2013). Tagasaste has become naturalized in Java, the Hawaiian Islands, California, Chile, North Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa (Francisco-Ortega et al, 1991). Since 1879, it has been grown as a droughtresistant fodder plant in Australia (Dann and Trimmer, 1989)
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