Abstract
The Echinacea genus includes a number of species that are commercially employed for the preparation of herbal products. Echinacea angustifolia DC. is one of these and is widely used, mainly for its immunomodulating properties, as it contains a wide range of compounds that belong to different chemical classes. In particular, echinacoside, cynarin and lipophylic alkylamides are the main specialized metabolites of the roots and can be considered to be marker compounds. In this work, 65 E. angustifolia accessions have been compared in a field trial in Italy, with the aim of investigating the variability/stability of the weight and chemical composition of their roots in order to identify the accessions that are most promising for future genetic-improvement programs. The morphological characteristics of the aerial parts have also been investigated. Seventeen samples were discarded due to germination or plantlet-development issues. Seven of the remaining accessions were identified as being different Echinacea species after a combined phytochemical and morphological evaluation. The morphological traits of the epigeal part, the root weight and the chemical composition data of the 41 confirmed E. angustifolia accessions were submitted to multivariate statistical analysis and a moderately homogenous sample distribution, with low selected-marker variability, was observed. Good echinacoside content was detected in almost all roots (>0.5%). However, two groups of accessions stood out because of their interesting features: One group possessed small roots, but had a high concentration of marker compounds, while another had highly developed roots and a good amount of marker compounds. These accessions can therefore be exploited for future selection work.
Highlights
The Echinacea genus (Asteraceae family) is indigenous to the Great Plains of North America and encompasses a small number of herbaceous grassland perennial taxa
The results obtained for several accessions that were considered as E. angustifolia confirm, from one side, the difficulties in the cultivation and the correct identification of this species
The combination of the main morphological traits and the quantification of cynarin and dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic acid isobutylamide marker compounds can help in the recognition of other possible Echinacea species, the taxonomy of this genus is still unclear
Summary
The Echinacea genus (Asteraceae family) is indigenous to the Great Plains of North America and encompasses a small number of herbaceous grassland perennial taxa. E. purpurea (L.) Moench (purple coneflower) are the main popular species in the dietary supplement markets. The taxonomy of the genus is still controversial. They were first considered to be varieties, McGregor described them, in 1968, as separate species on the basis of morphological criteria, cultivation and hybridization experiments, and cytological features [1,2,3,4]. McKeown et al., 1999 reports that the majority of the species of Echinacea are diploid (n = 11), but E. pallida and some populations of E. angustifolia var. The roots from E. pallida and E. angustifolia are commercially used, while the aerial parts of E. purpurea are employed
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