Abstract
Wall rocket (Diplotaxis erucoides) is a wild vegetable with the potential to become a crop of high antioxidant quality. The main bioactive compounds include ascorbic acid (AA), sinigrin, and a high content of total phenolic compounds (TP). It also accumulates nitrates. Since these compounds are affected by environmental conditions, adequate crop management may enhance its quality. Eleven accessions of wall rocket were evaluated under field and greenhouse conditions during two cycles (winter and spring) and compared to Eruca sativa and Diplotaxis tenuifolia crops. The three species did not differ greatly. As an exception, sinigrin was only identified in wall rocket. For the within-species analysis, the results revealed a high effect of the growing system, but this was low among accessions. The highest contents of AA and TP were obtained under field conditions. In addition, the levels of nitrates were lower in this system. A negative correlation between nitrates and antioxidants was determined. As a counterpart, cultivation in the field–winter environment significantly decreased the percentage of humidity (87%). These results are of relevance for the adaptation of wall rocket to different growing conditions and suggest that the field system enhances its quality. The low genotypic differences suggest that intra-species selections in breeding programs may consider other aspects with greater variation.
Highlights
Modern societies have become increasingly aware of the importance of diet as part of a healthy lifestyle
Wall rocket was compared to the reference materials including two accessions of D. tenuifolia and one accession of E. sativa in terms of the percentage of moisture and contents of ascorbic acid (AA), total phenolics (TP) and NO3 −
This factor was the main contributor to the total sum of squares in all cases, with values ranging between 52.8% (NO3 − ) and 72.6% (TP)
Summary
Modern societies have become increasingly aware of the importance of diet as part of a healthy lifestyle. Many consumers look for additional health benefits to be obtained from specific foods, which are known as functional foods [1,2]. Some consumers are demanding products with new and differentiated aromas and tastes to enrich daily dishes and increase the culinary experience [3]. These demands offer an opportunity for the enhancement of wild edible plants (WEPs). Several WEPs have high bioactive properties and may be considered as potential functional foods [4,5], while they have differentiated organoleptic characteristics that are highly appreciated [6]. Apart from the direct harvest from the wild, a promising strategy for such revalorization could be domestication and adaptation into cultivation systems; this is an alternative that offers several advantages such as better yields, uniformity and accessibility [3]
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