First Insight into Nutraceutical Properties of Local Salento Cichorium intybus Varieties: NMR-Based Metabolomic Approach

Abstract

Background: Plants of genus Cichorium are known for their therapeutic and nutraceutical properties determined by a wealth of phytochemical substances contained in the whole plant. The aim of this paper was to characterize the metabolic profiles of local Salento chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) varieties (“Bianca”, “Galatina”, “Leccese”, and “Otranto”) in order to describe their metabolites composition together with possible bioactivity and health beneficial properties. Methods: The investigation was performed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy and Multivariate Analysis (MVA), by which the metabolic profiles of the samples were easily obtained and compared. Results: The supervised Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) analysis showed as “Bianca” and “Galatina” samples grouped together separated by “Leccese” and “Otranto” varieties. A different content of free amino acids and organic acids was observed among the varieties. In particular a high content of cichoric and monocaffeoyl tartaric acid was observed for the “Leccese” variety. The presence of secondary metabolites adds significant interest in the investigation of Cichorium inthybus, as this vegetable may benefit human health when incorporated into the diet. Conclusions: The 1H-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) based characterization of Salento chicory varieties allowed us to determine the potential usefulness and nutraceutical properties of the product, also providing a method to guarantee its authenticity on a molecular scale.

Chicory for Processing – A Crop for the Future

“…In the tradition of many peoples, chicory is used for treating various health disorders. The studies on plants of the Cichorium genus have demonstrated many beneficial effects of the phytochemicals contained in the whole plant or parts of the plant, the potential utility and nutraceutical properties of the product, also providing a method to guarantee its authenticity at molecular scale (Girelli et al, 2021).…”

Belgian endive-derived biostimulants promote shoot and root growth in vitro

“…To identify compounds putatively involved in bioactivity, the complex water fractions, F5-8 were analyzed using NMR spectroscopy which is highly suitable for characterization of complex water extracts from plants [54][55][56][57] . Analysis of 1 H and 13 C spectra identified primary carbohydrates, malate, and choline, in all aqueous fractions.…”

Metabolomic NMR analysis and organoleptic perceptions of pomegranate wines: Influence of cultivar and yeast on the product characteristics

“…The variables responsible for the observed discrimination were identified by using an S-line plot. Mean values ± standard deviation of selected and distinctive bucket reduced NMR signal areas (normalized to the total spectrum excluding the residual water region) were used to evaluate the relative change in discriminating metabolite content between the observed groups [ 16 ]. Log 2 fold change (FC) ratio of the normalized median intensity of the corresponding signals in the spectra of the groups was used to assess changes in metabolite level between two groups [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…This high throughput, reliable, non-invasive, high and reproducible technique provides quantitative and structural information on either specific molecules or complex mixtures [ 13 ], with minimal sample manipulation (typically just buffer addition) [ 15 ]. Thus, together with High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectroscopy (HPLC-MS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) is widely used in metabolomic applications for food science and nutrition research [ [16] , [17] , [18] ]. In particular, the metabolomic approach based on NMR spectroscopy, has proven to be a powerful and reliable tool to obtain a simultaneous multiple-metabolites snapshot of biological samples for biomarker detection, food quality control, and/or origin discrimination [ 16 , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] ].…”