Abstract
Alfalfa is the main perennial legume and a rich source of phytoestrogens. Variation of phytoestrogen content and agronomic traits was evaluated in twenty alfalfa populations over two consecutive years. The most dominant phytoestrogen in alfalfa populations was genistein, while slightly lower levels were found for kaempferol and coumestrol. Several populations (Af 1, 12, 18, 19, 20) showed superior agronomic performance, especially high forage yield (up to 71.93 t ha−1). These populations were also characterized by a lower (Af 1, 12, 18, 20) or high (Af 1, 19) content of total and individual phytoestrogens, including Af 8 population with the highest total content (2637.10 μg g-1 of DM) and content of most of the individual phytoestrogens and favorable agronomic properties. Ward hierarchical clustering method grouped the twenty evaluated populations into four distinct clusters. Identified materials provide a valuable source of germplasm for further breeding programs in order to develop new high-yielding cultivars with either low (for forage use) or high (for possible pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals industries) phytoestrogen content.
Highlights
Alfalfa is the main perennial legume in the most temperate regions, primarily used as animal feed and it is universally considered one of the highest-quality forages
Slightly lower content was found for both kaempferol and coumestrol (26.84 and 25.02%), while the presence of glycitein and daidzein (14.84 kaempferol and coumestrol (26.84 and 25.02%), while the presence of glycitein and daidzein (14.84 and 2.97%) in the total amount of phytoestrogens of all alfalfa populations was significantly lower and 2.97%) in the total amount of phytoestrogens of all alfalfa populations was significantly lower (Figure 2)
high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD) chromatogram chromatogram of of the the phytoestrogens identified in alfalfain leaves extract
Summary
Alfalfa is the main perennial legume in the most temperate regions, primarily used as animal feed and it is universally considered one of the highest-quality forages. It is a valuable crop because of numerous agronomic and environmental advantages in terms of preserving soil fertility and biodiversity, soil erosion protection, mitigation of climate change impacts, reduction of groundwater nitrate pollution, fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions etc., [1,2,3,4,5]. Like other legumes, is a rich source of phytoestrogens These are phenolic non-steroidal compounds with a similar steric structure as steroidal estrogens [6].
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