Temperature-Associated Effects on Flavonol Content in Field-Grown Phaseolus vulgaris L. Zolfino del Pratomagno

Ilaria Marotti,Anne Whittaker,Giovanni Dinelli,Stefano Benvenuti,Sara Bosi,Lisetta Ghiselli,Stefano Benedettelli

doi:10.3390/agronomy10050682

Ilaria Marotti, Anne Whittaker + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10050682

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Abstract

Combining the need to increase local Phaseolus vulgaris L. production, with the objective of identifying which abiotic inductors (irrigation and temperature) and/or elicitors (nitrogen fertilizer treatment) can be used as potential strategies to improve flavonol content, open-field experiments were conducted in Pisa and Bologna (Italy) over two years, using the local landrace of interest “Zolfino del Pratomagno”, and a commercial variety, Verdone. Full-irrigation and nitrogen treatment, individually, and in combination, increased yield and decreased flavonols, respectively, in both genotypes and locations. Yield, under all treatments, was significantly higher in Pisa (17.5–21.9 °C) than Bologna (21.4–24.8 °C) for Verdone, but was the equivalent for Zolfino. An inverse correlation between average mean temperature and flavonol content was evident only in Zolfino. The feasibility of increasing dietary flavonol production using decreasing temperature as a strategy with some degree of control was then tested by cultivating Zolfino at different altitudes (108 (24 °C) to 800 m a.s.l. (18 °C)) in Pratomagno. Increasing the altitude induced a significant 3-fold increase in seed-coat kaempferol glycosides, comprising more than 95% of the total flavonols. Temperature-associated effects on flavonol synthesis warrants consideration when selecting a cultivation environment to augment the kaempferol-based, anticarcinogenic benefits of Zolfino.

Highlights

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the 68th United NationsGeneral Assembly declared 2016 “The Year of the Pulse”
The phenolic acids, kaempferol aglycone and kaempferol glycosidic standards, as well as the reagents used for the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation of polyphenols, were as reported previously [4]
The present study is aimed at identifying which abiotic inductors and/or elicitors could potentially be used as strategies to augment kaempferol flavonols [4] in the local landrace of interest “Zolfino del Pratomagno”

Summary

Introduction

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the 68th United NationsGeneral Assembly declared 2016 “The Year of the Pulse”. The objective was to raise global awareness of the many benefits of pulses (including the common bean), and to promote their cultivation, to meet the demand of an increasing human population but to obtain quality food. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important nutritional source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins, in developing countries. In addition to the nutritional value, the common bean has increasingly gained attention as a functional or nutraceutical food. This is attributable to the presence of secondary metabolite phytochemicals (including flavonoids), which are integral to the link between food and functional benefits, including antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic biological activities [1,2].

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