Abstract:
The high demand for healthy food in recent years led to an increasing need for highly bioactive plant materials. One simple method to improve the nutritional properties of plants could be the treatment of plants of known bioactive potential (acceptor) with extracts of different plant species (donors) that contain additional high bioactive compounds, so-called interspecies source-sink phytochemical transfer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of interspecies transfer of metabolites on plant phenolic and vitamin C profile to improve their gastrointestinal bioavailability, hypoglycemic potential, and antioxidant capacity as well as cytotoxicity. Additionally, it was tested whether there is an effect of phytochemical transfer on the expression of marker genes in phenolic biosynthetic pathways. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) sprouts were chosen as a model of plant acceptor, while the inflorescences of St. John`s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), leaves of rose (Rosa sp.) and shoots of black bryony (Tamus communis) were used as plant donors. Even though the chamomile extract increased the highest number of individually identified compounds in Chinese cabbage sprouts, that was not crucial for the improvement of their bioactivity. Rather, black bryony application induced more biopotential parameters in the sprouts such as significantly improved bioavailability of vitamin C, kaempferol and total phenolics both before and during gastrointestinal digestion of sprouts, increased hypoglycemic activity of sprouts, and their antioxidant capacity during digestion. For an increased cytotoxicity against MCF cells, St. John`s-wort, rose and chamomille extracts could be applied to Chinese cabbage sprouts. The results suggest that interspecies phytochemical transfer could enhance the phytochemical profile and the bioactive properties of the acceptor plant.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The audience will get an idea of the potential that interspecies transfer of metabolites has in improvement of sprouts nutritional and healthy value. They will be able to try out this concept in their own laboratories and/or homes with different plant donor-acceptor combinations. We will discuss the results through the lens of potential benefits of an interspecies source-sink strategy for the food industry.
- The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of interspecies source-sink phytochemical transfer on plants phenolic and vitamin C profile to improve their gastrointestinal bioaccessibility, hypoglycemic potential, and antioxidant capacity as well as antiproliferative effect. We also tested whether an effect of phytochemical transfer is evident in the expression of marker genes in phenolic biosynthetic pathways. The hypothesys was that interspecific phytochemical transfer would improve the phytochemical profile and the bioactive properties of the acceptor plant, in this study Chinese cabbage sprouts. Therefore, the audience will get informations on the stable/susceptible variables in plant acceptor upon interspecies source-sink transfer of compounds. The results could be induced in other researches and the concept further developed. The idea of plant nutritional value improvement using interspecies transfer of metabolites could be implemented in teaching. The study provides a practical solution for boosting the nutritional value and specific biological activities of plants. It presents a first assessment on nutritional significance of interspecies phytochemical transfer. Some of the new informations that the results offer are: Black bryony (Tamus communis) improves availability of Chinese cabbage vitamin C, kaempferol and total phenolics, and its antioxidant and hypoglycemic activity. St. John`s-wort (Hypericum perforatum), rose (Rosa sp.) and chamomille (Matricaria chamomilla) increase Chinese cabbage cytotoxicity against MCF7, human breast cancer cells. Phenolics and vitamin C donor to acceptor plant transfer is affected by donor matrix.
