EVALUATION OF SICILIAN WILD BRASSICA SPECIES (N=9) FOR GLUCOSINOLATE PROFILE AND ANTIOXIDANT COMPOUNDS

In the frame of the EU GENRES057 “AEGRO” project attention was paid to individual wild Brassica populations in Sicily, to collect and conserve seed samples, to characterize and evaluate them for different traits such as glucosinolates and antioxidant compounds. Project species were B. incana, B. macrocarpa, B. rupestris and B. villos and B. Montana. Wild populations were evaluated in a field, set up at the experimental farm of Catania University. After one year from transplanting, leaf samples were collected from each plant in order to have three bulk replicates for each population. The phytochemical profile was analyzed in terms of glucosinolates content, ascorbic acid, polyphenols and carotenoid content. Antioxidant capacity was evaluated by means of DPPH and crocin bleaching assay (LIPOX-CROCIN). High level of variability was found, mainly regarding the antioxidant indexes and the glucosinolate content.