Abstract
Flavonoids play an important role in the pigmentation of flowers; in addition, they protect petals and other flower parts from UV irradiation and oxidative stress. Nudicaulins, flavonoid-derived indole alkaloids, along with pelargonidin, kaempferol, and gossypetin glycosides, are responsible for the color of white, red, orange, and yellow petals of different Papaver nudicaule cultivars. The color of the petals is essential to attract pollinators. We investigated the occurrence of flavonoids in basal and apical petal areas, stamens, and capsules of four differently colored P. nudicaule cultivars by means of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. The results reveal the specific occurrence of gossypetin glycosides in the basal spot of all cultivars and demonstrate that kaempferol glycosides are the major secondary metabolites in the capsules. Unlike previous reports, the yellow-colored stamens of all four P. nudicaule cultivars are shown to contain not nudicaulins but carotenoids. In addition, the presence of nudicaulins, pelargonidin, and kaempferol glycosides in the apical petal area was confirmed. The flavonoids and related compounds in the investigated flower parts and cultivars of P. nudicaule are profiled, and their potential ecological role is discussed.
Highlights
Ubiquitous in angiosperms, flavonoids are extremely diverse in their chemical structure, color, and biological function
High-performance of fresh extracts obtained from the apical petal areas of the white, yellow, orange, and red cultivars orange, and red cultivars cultivars of fresh extracts obtained from the apical petal areas of the yellow, orange, confirmed the presence of nudicaulins, kaempferol, andwhite, pelargonidin glycosides
Apical pigments were already studies, the aglycone and the substitution of pigments the apicalwere pigments were already the aglycone structuresstructures and the substitution patterns ofpatterns the apical already elucidated by LC-mass spectrometry (MS) (Figure S1) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) [7,10,15]
Summary
Ubiquitous in angiosperms, flavonoids are extremely diverse in their chemical structure, color, and biological function. Anthocyanidins, in particular, and their corresponding glycosides (anthocyanins) are flower and fruit pigments, which enhance pollination and seed dispersal [2]. These red to blue pigments are often accompanied by pale yellow or colorless flavonols, which serve as co-pigments and may play a role in UV protection, disease resistance, or hormone signaling [3]. The occurrence and distribution of flavonoids is likely connected to their specific function. In 1931, the first flower pigments of Papaver nudicaule, a poppy species originating from Siberia [4]
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