Abstract
BACKGROUNDChia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a functional food from Central America. Interest in it is growing rapidly due to the many health benefits from the seed. However, when chia is grown at high latitudes, seed yield may be low whereas a high stem biomass and immature inflorescences are produced. Little is known about the chemical composition and the properties of stems and flowers. In this work, the metabolite profile, the antioxidant activity, and the total polyphenol content of stems and inflorescences were evaluated in a factorial experiment with different chia populations (commercial black chia and long‐day flowering mutants G3, G8, and G17) and irrigation (100% and 50% of evapotranspiration).RESULTSThe results show the influence of irrigation and seed source on the antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content of chia flower and stem. Inflorescences exhibit higher antioxidant activity, suggesting their potential use as natural antioxidant. The mutants G3 and G8, at 50% irrigation, contained the highest amounts of compounds with nutraceutical value, especially within the flower. The mutant G17 showed lower antioxidant activity and polyphenol content compared to other seed sources but exhibited high omega 3 content in flowers but low in stems. This indicates that chia varieties should be chosen according to the objective of cultivation.CONCLUSIONThese findings, indicating a close relation of metabolite content with irrigation and seed source, may provide the basis for the use of chia flower and stem for their nutraceutical value in the food, feed, and supplement industries. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Highlights
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a herbaceous plant from the Lamiaceae family, which contains over 900 species globally
The comparison of the composition of four different seed sources at two irrigation treatments has shown that irrigation has a significant impact on metabolite content, antioxidant activity and polyphenol content with higher values found at 50% water supply compared to full irrigation
The results show that chia inflorescences exhibit high antioxidant activity levels and suggest they could be a more potent natural antioxidant than the plant seeds
Summary
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a herbaceous plant from the Lamiaceae family, which contains over 900 species globally. It is native of southern Mexico and Central America.[1] The fruit, often referred to as ‘seed’ of the chia crop was a staple in the diet of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations.[2] In ancient Mayan, chia means strength indicating the vast benefits and large energy capacity of this crop. When chia is grown at high latitudes, seed yield may be low whereas a high stem biomass and immature inflorescences are produced. The metabolite profile, the antioxidant activity, and the total polyphenol content of stems and inflorescences were evaluated in a factorial experiment with different chia populations (commercial black chia and longday flowering mutants G3, G8, and G17) and irrigation (100% and 50% of evapotranspiration)
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