Organic Crop Management Enhances Chicoric Acid Content in Lettuce

Abstract

L- chicoric acid is a dominant phenolic compound in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and has been shown to accumulate in response to many abiotic stresses and crop management practices. It is a potent inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) integrase needed for the replication of this virus and for the productive infection of the host cell. L- chicoric acid has been found to act synergistically in combination with anti-HIV drugs used for treating acquired immuno-deficiency disorder (AIDS). We show in this study that organic management practices increase the chicoric acid content by nearly 2-fold compared to conventional management practices while they did not have a significant effect on the overall accumulation of phenolic compounds and antioxidants. Similar increase was observed in quercetin-3-O-glucoside under organic management. In addition, pre-plant fertilization decreased the levels of many phenolic compounds including chicoric acid under organic management unlike under conventional management. However, organically managed crop without pre-plant fertilization had better growth and produced about 2.5 times higher yield and higher chicoric acid content than did the conventionally managed crop. Thus, the results show that long term organic crop management practices, but avoiding pre-plant fertilization, can significantly enhance the yield of antiretroviral agent chicoric acid in lettuce

Species-specific differences in synthesis of flavonoids and phenolic acids under increasing periods of enhanced blue light

“…Cichoric acid and rosmaric acid exist naturally as major phenolic compounds in lettuce (Rajashekar et al, 2012;Becker et al, 2013) and basil (Lee and Schlagel, 2009;Taulavuori et al, 2013), respectively. In accordance with previous studies, cichoric acid was the most abundant phenolic compound found in red leaf lettuce (Table 2) and similarly rosmaric acid in basil (Table 3).…”

Chicoric acid: chemistry, distribution, and production

“…“Verde” zucchini ( Cucurbita pepo L.) samples from a public marketplace contained chicoric acid only when fruit were identified as organically grown (Iswaldi et al, 2013 ). In contrast, growing green leaf lettuce plants grown in conventionally managed field plots had similar chicoric acid concentrations and dry weight as plants grown in 5 year old certified organic plots when plants were fertilized (Rajashekar et al, 2012 ). Interestingly, in the same study, growing plants with organic fertilizer (composted cattle manure and alfalfa hay) decreased chicoric acid concentrations compared to plants grown without additional fertilizer and, plants grown with non-organic fertilizer in non-organic plots had similar chicoric acid concentrations and greater dry weight than plants grown without additional fertilizer.…”

“…In some research nutrient application rate was also altered with fertilizer form; therefore the effects of fertilizer form on chicoric acid cannot be separated from the differences in nutrient application rates among treatments. Fertilizer additions (organic or non-organic) decreased chicoric acid accumulation in green leaf lettuce (“Baronet”) (Rajashekar et al, 2012 ). Use of a commercial form of cow manure vs. conventional fertilization did not result in chicoric acid differences within chicory leaves, in either water stressed plants or unstressed ones (Heimler et al, 2009 ).…”

The Neonicotinoid Thiacloprid Interferes with the Development, Brain Antioxidants, and Neurochemistry of Chicken Embryos and Alters the Hatchling Behavior: Modulatory Potential of Phytochemicals

“…Chicoric acid (CA) is a natural dicaffeyltartaric present in a wide variety of edible vegetables and plants such as the Mediterranean vegetables Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) [ 14 ], Echinacea purpurea [ 15 ], Lactuca sativa (iceberg lettuce) [ 16 ], Taraxacum spp. (dandelion) [ 17 ], Ocimum basilicum (basil) [ 18 ], some seagrass such as Cymodocea nodosa [ 19 ], and other plants.…”