Galegine Content in Goatsrue (Galega officinalis) Varies by Plant Part and Phenological Growth Stage

Abstract

Goatsrue is a member of the Fabaceae family, native to Europe and western Asia. It contains the toxic alkaloid galegine. The objective of the study was to describe galegine concentration in aboveground goatsrue plant parts and total galegine pools over phenological growth stages. Twenty goatsrue plants at four locations were selected and a stalk was harvested from each at five stages of phenological development and separated into parts. Plant parts were freeze-dried, ground, and analyzed with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Galegine concentration was significantly different in plant tissues; reproductive tissues had the highest levels of galegine (7 mg g−1), followed by leaf (4 mg g−1) and finally stem (1 mg g−1) tissues. Galegine concentration and pools varied over plant tissues and phenological growth stages. Galegine pools (dry weight by concentration) or the total amount of galegine per stalk were lowest at the vegetative growth stage (2 mg stalk−1) and increased until reaching a maximum at the immature pod stage (91 mg stalk−1). The pools decreased nearly in half (48 mg stalk−1) by the mature seed stage. Like galegine pools, galegine concentration also reached a maximum at the immature pod stage (4 mg g−1), and decreased by nearly half by the mature seed stage (2 mg g−1). The increased levels of galegine pools at immature pod stage corresponds with the time of meadow hay harvest, implying that goatsrue is potentially most toxic at the phenological stage when it is likely to be harvested as a contaminant in meadow hay.

Plant age and the inducibility of extrafloral nectaries in Vicia faba

“…Because both costs and benefits are liable to change with plant age and stage, the level of expression of plant defences is predicted to be age dependent-a prediction that is now supported by a growing number of empirical studies investigating a wide range of plant species and defence types (e.g., Boege et al 2007;Elger et al 2009;Oldham et al 2011;Broekgaarden et al 2012). Of the four main categories of resistance types-constitutive-direct resistance, constitutive- 2 for log(x ?…”

Investigation of the Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant Activity, and Methylglyoxal Trapping Effect of Galega officinalis L. Herb In Vitro

“…The mean sum of guanidines in the analyzed samples was calculated as 8.08 mg/g DW. A study of Oldham et al [ 24 ] indicated that the galegine content varied over the plant tissues and growth stages. The highest level of this compound was observed for reproductive tissues (6.32–8.53 mg/g, on average 7.35 mg/g DW), followed by leaves (2.8–6.22 mg/g, on average 4.25 mg/g DW) and the stem (1.27–1.85 mg/g, on average 1.44 mg/g DW).…”

“…Moreover, many recent studies have reported that other groups of phytochemicals commonly occurring in plants-e.g., flavonoids and phenolic acids-also scavenge RCS and free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which both demonstrate a prominent role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction related to diabetes mellitus [22,23] However, although the therapeutic properties of goat's rue have long been recognized and appreciated in traditional medicine, the study of the phytochemical profile of the G. officinalis herb has been barely addressed. Previous studies on the composition of this species were focused on seed phytochemistry, mainly concerning amino compounds [24]. The chemical constitution of its polyphenolic fraction has received much less attention.…”

“…However, although the therapeutic properties of goat’s rue have long been recognized and appreciated in traditional medicine, the study of the phytochemical profile of the G. officinalis herb has been barely addressed. Previous studies on the composition of this species were focused on seed phytochemistry, mainly concerning amino compounds [ 24 ]. The chemical constitution of its polyphenolic fraction has received much less attention.…”