Castanea spp. Agrobiodiversity Conservation: Genotype Influence on Chemical and Sensorial Traits of Cultivars Grown on the Same Clonal Rootstock

Abstract

A large species diversity characterises the wide distribution of chestnuts in Asia, North America, and Europe, hence reflecting not only the adaptation of the genus Castanea to diverse environmental conditions, but also to different management strategies encompassing orchards. The characterisation and description of chestnut populations and cultivars are crucial to develop effective conservation strategies of one of the most important Italian and European fruit and wood species. Chestnut cultivars grown in the same pedoclimatic conditions and on the same clonal rootstock were characterised with sensory, spectrophotometric, and chromatographic analysis to determine the phytochemical composition and nutraceutical properties. A multivariate approach, including principal component analysis and conditional inference tree models, was also performed. The ease of peeling, seed colour, and intensity of sweetness were the sensory descriptors that allowed us to differentiate C. sativa cultivars. Antioxidant capacity ranged from 9.30 ± 0.39 mmol Fe+2 kg−1 DW (‘Bouche de Bètizac’) to 19.96 ± 1.89 mmol Fe+2 kg−1 DW (‘Garrone Rosso’). Monoterpenes represented the main component, reaching 88% for hybrids, followed by polyphenols (10–25% for hybrids and chestnuts, respectively). A multivariate approach showed that phenolic acids and tannins were the bioactive classes with the highest discriminating power among different genotypes, and that genotype is a significant variable (p < 0.05). In addition, most of the analysed chestnut cultivars showed a content of bioactive compounds similar to or higher than the main hazelnut, walnut, and almond varieties. Chestnut agrobiodiversity could be intended as strictly associated to the genotype effect and underlines the large variability within the genus Castanea, and therefore, the importance of in farm and ex situ conservation of local germplasm is part of a global strategy aimed at increasing the levels of agrobiodiversity.

Traditional Sweet Chestnut and Hybrid Varieties: Chemical Composition, Morphometric and Qualitative Nut Characteristics

“…However, there are many more published research papers on the chemical composition of traditional sweet chestnut varieties. According to those studies, the chemical composition of chestnuts varies by genotype [6,8,10,89,90], ecotype [34,59], soil and climatic conditions [7,9,11], altitude [91], area of production [9] and production practices [92,93]. Given that the samples in this study were collected under the same climatic and soil conditions, the differences in the proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash and total carbohydrates) and macro-and micro-nutrients can be interpreted as a result of genetic differences between the studied varieties.…”

Endophytic Fungi and Ecological Fitness of Chestnuts

“…Castanea species show different ecological and morphological traits, vegetative habit, wood and nut characteristics, pedoclimatic adaptability, resilience and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, reflecting the adaptation of this genus to different environmental conditions [ 4 ]. The main cultivated species are C. sativa , C. mollissima and C. crenata, due to their large nut size, and marroni cultivars ( C. sativa ) are considered the most commercially valuable.…”

Phytochemical Composition, Antibacterial Activity, and Antioxidant Properties of the Artocarpus altilis Fruits to Promote Their Consumption in the Comoros Islands as Potential Health-Promoting Food or a Source of Bioactive Molecules for the Food Industry

“…In addition, they are non-nutritive dietetic substances responsible for the antibacterial and anti-tumour activities of essential oils of several plants [ 68 , 69 ]. They present a chemo-preventive activity against several types of cancers [ 70 ].…”