Year: 2004
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: The herbal crops parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) have relatively high concentrations of nutritionally important lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene carotenoid phytonutrients However, knowledge of the genetic and environmental influences on carotenoid accumulation in herbal crops is lacking.Therefore, the objectives of these studies were to assess the impact of cultivar choice and environment on carotenoid production in parsley and basil.Genotypic differences for lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene content were measured in leaf tissue from eight commercial basil cultivars.The first yearʼs evaluation revealed significant differences among cultivars for all carotenoids tested.`Sweet Thaiʼ, ʻGenoveseʼ, and ʻCinnamonʼ ranked highest for lutein, zeaxanthin, and β -carotene.In a second study, carotenoid production in the leaves of parsley was assessed under varying levels of nitrogen (N) fertility.`Dark Green Italianʼ parsley was greenhousegrown in a nutrient solution with N at 6.0, 13.1, 26.3, 52.5, or 105.0 mg•L -1 .Increasing N in the nutrient solution increased plant biomass, lutein-zeaxanthin, β-carotene, and chlorophyll pigments.Carotenoid production in leafy herbal crops can be modified through genetic and environmental manipulation.Increasing the concentration of important dietary carotenoids through simple cultural production techniques would be expected to increase the nutritional value of these culinary herbal crops.
Source: HortScience
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
OpenAlex ID: W4244581985