EVALUATION OF TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT PRODUCTION IN SEED AND IN VITRO POPULATIONS OF TARAXACUM MONGOLICUM AND T. OFFICINALE

Members of the genus Taraxacum are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat complaints including hepatic disease, various cancers, inflammation and urinary problems. Studies within the genus have identified phytochemical compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and antioxidant activity. To investigate the potential for European production from field or glasshouse cultivation of such compounds, a seed population of T. mongolicum, wild-collected from northeastern China, was compared with a population of T. officinale, from east Denmark for total antioxidant activity. Additionally, a protocol for in vitro production of T. mongolicum was developed to provide the opportunity to produce clonal material for crop improvement. The in vitro system also served as a standardised environment to investigate the impact of abiotic stress on antioxidant activity. Total antioxidant levels in mature leaves from the two Taraxacum species were broadly comparable (median values of 27.9 and 32.9 Trolox equivalents-µm/g f.wt.) with a wide range of individual values. However, when T. mongolicum populations were raised in vitro, where environmental stress is likely to be relatively low and uniform, the median values, and range, for antioxidant activity was significantly diminished. This suggests that to maximize antioxidant production from field or glasshouse cultivation, imposed environmental stress will be necessary.