Saponin Profile of Wild Asparagus Species.
The aim of this work was to study the saponin profiles from spears of different wild asparagus species in the context of its genetic diversity aside from geographical seed origin. They included Asparagus pseudoscaber Grecescu, Asparagus maritimus (L.) Mill., Asparagus brachiphyllus Turcz., Asparagus prostrates Dumort., and Asparagus officinalis L. The saponin analysis by LC-MS has shown that saponin profile from wild asparagus is similar to that previously described for triguero asparagus from Huétor-Tájar landrace (triguero HT), which had not ever been reported in the edible part of asparagus. All the samples, except A. officinalis, were characterized for having saponins distinct to protodioscin and the total saponin contents were 10-fold higher than those described for commercial hybrids of green asparagus. In particular, A. maritimus from different origins were rich in saponins previously found in triguero HT. These findings supported previous suggestion, based on genetic analysis, about A. maritimus being the origin of triguero HT. Multivariate statistics including principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis were used to define both similarities and differences among samples. The results showed that the greatest variance of the tested wild asparagus could be attributed to differences in the concentration of particular saponins and this knowledge could be a tool for identifying similar species.
Phytochemicals and Food Quality Group, Inst. de la Grasa (CSIC), 41013, Seville, Spain.
Sara
S
Jaramillo-Carmona
Phytochemicals and Food Quality Group, Inst. de la Grasa (CSIC), 41013, Seville, Spain.
Rocío
R
Rodriguez-Arcos
Phytochemicals and Food Quality Group, Inst. de la Grasa (CSIC), 41013, Seville, Spain.
Ana
A
Jiménez-Araujo
Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, Inst de la Grasa (CSIC), 41013, Seville, Spain.
Sergio
S
López
Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Cordoba, Spain.
Juan
J
Gil
Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Cordoba, Spain.
Roberto
R
Moreno
Phytochemicals and Food Quality Group, Inst. de la Grasa (CSIC), 41013, Seville, Spain.
Rafael
R
Guillén-Bejarano
D027761:Asparagus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004144:Diosgenin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012503:Saponins / Q000032:analysis*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*
D012503:Saponins; C459619:protodioscin; D004144:Diosgenin
HPLC-MS; phytochemical profile; principal component analysis; saponins; wild asparagus