Abstract
Asparagus is highly appreciated for its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics and wild genotypes are valuable components of traditional dishes. In this study, the physical and chemical traits of wild (green and violet) and cultivated asparagus (‘Grande’, ‘Purple Passion’, and ‘Bianco di Bassano del Grappa’), both raw and steamed, were evaluated. Steaming did not affect the total phenols content with the exception of wild green (+49%) and ‘Grande’ (−31%). Only for wild violet asparagus steaming increased the total antioxidant activity (+46%). Chlorogenic acid and chicoric acid were found only in wild asparagus, while rutin was generally higher in colored cultivated asparagus than wild ones. The highest content of isorhamnetin-3-rutinoside was found in wild violet asparagus while only traces of this compound were detected in the cultivated ones. Steaming influenced the content of both chlorophylls and carotenoids in asparagus, also resulting in changes in the color parameters in cooked spears. Overall, the sugar content in wild asparagus was lower than in the cultivated ones and steaming had a low impact on this chemical trait. Principal component analysis highlighted the most evident separation between wild asparagus and cultivated ones. These results indicate that wild asparagus can be considered a nutritious and refined food, and provide specific information required for cooking process strategies in the agri-food industrial sector.
Highlights
The asparagus spears from wild (Asparagus acutifolius L.) and cultivated (Asparagus officinalis L.) species are highly appreciated for their organoleptic and nutritional characteristics
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-grade water was prepared by a Milli-Q system (Millipore, Bedford, MA, USA)
The wild asparagus spears were sampled in an oak (Quercus spp.) forest of Gravina in Puglia (40◦51 N–16◦19 E, Italy) in shady and sunny areas (Figure 1A)
Summary
The asparagus spears from wild (Asparagus acutifolius L.) and cultivated (Asparagus officinalis L.) species are highly appreciated for their organoleptic and nutritional characteristics This plant has a low caloric content (approximately 22–35 kcal 100 g−1) [1], but it is very rich in bioactive compounds, with strong antioxidant properties [2,3], mainly represented by phenols, sterols, saponins, oligosaccharides, carotenoids, sulfurated acids, essential amino acids [4,5], fibers [6], minerals, and vitamins [1]. The aim of our research was to compare the qualitative characteristics (dry matter, color parameters, chlorophylls, carotenoids, sugars, polyphenol composition, total phenols, and antioxidant activity) of two types of wild asparagus (green and violet) and three asparagus cultivars (‘Grande’, green; ‘Purple Passion’, violet; and ‘Bianco di Bassano del Grappa’, white), based on the hypothesis that wild products have better qualitative properties than cultivated ones and that cooking usually modify vegetable quality
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