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Acosta, M. Melatonin in Brassicaceae. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/20342 (accessed on 22 December 2024).
Acosta M. Melatonin in Brassicaceae. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/20342. Accessed December 22, 2024.
Acosta, Manuela. "Melatonin in Brassicaceae" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/20342 (accessed December 22, 2024).
Acosta, M. (2022, March 08). Melatonin in Brassicaceae. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/20342
Acosta, Manuela. "Melatonin in Brassicaceae." Encyclopedia. Web. 08 March, 2022.
Melatonin in Brassicaceae
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The family Brassicaceae, also known as Cruciferae, includes approximately 372 genera and 4060 species. It is distributed throughout the world, and its distribution pattern suggests that this plant family originated and was diversified from the eastern Mediterranean. Brassicaceae is a large family of plants that have a wide range of applications, including human consumption in vegetables, seed oils and condiments, livestock in fodder and others.Arabidopsis thaliana, which is well known in the research, belongs to this family.

broccoli melatonin postharvest glucosinolates vegetables

1. Brassicaceae Plants and Melatonin Studies

The family Brassicaceae, also known as Cruciferae, includes approximately 372 genera and 4060 species. It is distributed throughout the world, and its distribution pattern suggests that this plant family originated and was diversified from the eastern Mediterranean. Brassicaceae is a large family of plants that have a wide range of applications, including human consumption in vegetables, seed oils and condiments, livestock in fodder and others. Arabidopsis thaliana, which is well known in the research, belongs to this family. Among the vegetables that stand out for their high consumption are broccolis, cauliflowers, cabbages, collard greens, turnips and radishes; all of these derive from cultivars of Brassica rapa L. and Brassica oleracea L., which present a multitude of varieties and/or subspecies that provide an enormous culinary richness in the different regions where they are grown. Brassica napus L. var oleracea is cultivated worldwide for rapeseed oil. The three types of mustard: yellow (Sinapsis alba L.), black (Brassica nigra L.) and brown or Indian (Brassica juncea L.) are also widely cultivated and appreciated in gastronomy [1][2].
Multiple studies of melatonin with A. thaliana can be consulted. In general, melatonin has a vegetative-growth-promoting effect, activating the biosynthesis of plant hormones, and balancing redox homeostasis, especially in situations of abiotic stress. A clear effect of Brassicaceae is the activation of anthocyanin biosynthesis, together with a foliar senescence-retarding effect. Therefore, melatonin treatments in plants, either foliar or root, result in plants of larger size, biomass and color and those with greater tolerance to stress—all very interesting aspects to be applied in the crops of the different Brassicaceae.

2. Postharvest Application of Melatonin in Brassicaceae

One of the most interesting aspects on melatonin is its ability as a biomodulator of ripening and senescence. There are many interesting results in the postharvest treatments of fruits such as apple, pear, tomato, cucumber, grape, plum, peach, apricot, cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, banana and so on, and in flowers such as carnation, anthurium, devil’s trumpet and peony. Some recent reviews on this topic, in which multiple data are analyzed and a scheme of action of melatonin on postharvest conservation is proposed, can be consulted [3][4][5][6][7].
Melatonin treatment in broccoli florets shows interesting results for the postharvest conservation of this vegetable frequently consumed worldwide. Visual and quality characteristics are clearly improved by treatments around 100 μM melatonin. Short treatments by immersion or spray induce a lower loss of chlorophylls and carotenoids, and therefore, an improvement in the chromatic spectrum of broccoli florets, as can be seen by a greater degree of hue angle (greener, bluer, less yellow). This anti-senescence effect was first described in 2009 in barley leaves [8], and has subsequently been verified in a multitude of plant species, both edible and wildtype, where an inhibitory effect of melatonin on activating senescence transcription factors was demonstrated [9][10][11][4][12][13]. In addition, broccoli florets preserve freshness better, with less hydric and texture loss. In general, the maintenance and cold transport of broccoli florets is essential for an acceptable shelf life. Temperatures around 4 °C are ideal for reaching a maximum duration of about 20–22 days. Melatonin treatments clearly enhance visual and quality characteristics, improving color, texture and shine, and are able to extend its shelf life between 5–8 days with maximum quality. Other parameters such as soluble solids, total acid content, astringency, bitterness and vitamin C content are improved with melatonin treatments.
Regarding the compounds of nutraceutical interest in broccoli florets, melatonin treatments increase the contents of total phenols and flavonoids, and some specific ones such as rutin and quercetin. Melatonin induces the expression of diverse transcripts of phenolic metabolism. In white and red cabbage seedlings, melatonin upregulates phenolic-related genes such as PAL, cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H), CHS, CHI, F3H, DFR and UFGT, among others [14]. Moreover, in fruits such as berries and kiwifruit, melatonin induces several flavonoid biosynthesis genes [15][16]. Melatonin has also been found to cause a general activation of the primary and secondary metabolism that leads to high levels of carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, and a better energy level and redox status [17][4].
A characteristic of Brassicaceae, though not exclusive to it, is its relevant level in glucosinolates, which are a group of secondary metabolites. Evolutionarily, glucosinolates originated twice, so that they are found in two unrelated lines of plants: in the Brassicales order (mainly Brassicaceae, Capparaceae and Caricaceae families) and in the Putranjivaceae family [18]. These compounds contain N- and/or S- in their chemical structure, formulated as β-thioglucoside-N-hydroxysulfates. More than 120 glucosinolate compounds have been identified, and they can be classified as aliphatic glucosinolates (originating from methionine, valine, leucine or isoleucine), indole glucosinolates (originating from tryptophan) and aromatic glucosinolates (from phenylalanine or tyrosine) [19]. These secondary metabolites are relevant in the defense system of plants due their fungicide, bactericide, nematicide and allelopathic properties [20]. Moreover, Brassicaceae’s powerful odor and taste (“mustard oil bomb”) seems to repel herbivores, defending the plant from excessive consumption [21]. Likewise, the potent cancer chemoprotective and/or anti-oncogenic activity of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates (their hydrolysis products) has been described, promoting the cultivation and human consumption of glucosinolate-containing plant species as healthy foods [19][22][23].
In an experiment on broccoli florets without cooling, the contents of total aliphatic and indolic glucosinolates declined by more than 50% after 3 days of storage. However, the decrease was alleviated by melatonin treatment [24]. In broccoli florets stored at 20 °C [24] and also at 4 °C [25], melatonin induced total glucosinolate content, including the biosynthesis of several aliphatic glucosinolates such as GER and GRA, and decreased others such as GNA and PRO; moreover, indolic glucosinolates such as GBS, NGBS and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin (4MGBS) were increased. Sulforaphane (SFR), an isothiocyanate product, was additionally increased (Figure 1). Melatonin upregulated the expression of several genes related to glucosinolate biosynthesis such as the transcription factors MYB28 and MYB34, and several transcripts of glucosinolate biosynthesis enzymes such as GS-Elong, UGT74B1, ST5b, FMOGS-OX1 and TGG1, and CYP83A1, CYP79F1 and CYP79B2, but AOP2 and ESP were downregulated by melatonin. The upregulation by melatonin of MYO/TGGs induced glucosinolate hydrolysis, reflecting the accumulated levels of sulforaphane in stored broccoli (Figure 1) [24][25]. In Chinese cabbage, a similar glucosinolate biosynthesis activation by melatonin was observed. An interesting study on the fungicide activity of glucosinolate-rich extracts against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (stem rot disease) and its relationship with the melatonin-inducing capacity of glucosinolate biosynthesis was demonstrated [26]. An overall view is provided in the proposed model of Figure 1, but although it was unknown that during the storage of broccoli glucosinolates are synthesized [27], and that melatonin is able to over-activate the biosynthesis of these compounds, it is important to point out that the conditions of temperature and light/dark determine the balance between glucosinolate biosynthesis and hydrolysis up to isothiocyanates, which considerably alter the flavors of the product by the time it reaches the consumer.
Figure 1. Representative model of melatonin’s effects on broccoli florets postharvest. Red arrows mean up-/downregulation, and yellow +/− means higher/lower levels with respect to untreated broccoli heads.

Abbreviations

4MGBS 4-methoxyglucobrassicin
AOP2 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase
C4H cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase
CHI chalcone isomerase
CHS chalcone synthase
CYP79B1,2 cytochome P450
CYP79F1 dihomomethionine N-hydroxylase
CYP83A1 cytochome P450
DFR dihydroflavonol 4-reductase
EC electroconductivity
ESP epithiospecifier protein
F3H: flavanone 3-hydroxylase
FMOGS-OX1 flavin monooxygenase
GBS glucobrassicin
GER glucoerucin
GNA gluconapin
GRA glucoraphanin
GS-Elong glucosinolate biosynthesis enzyme
MYO myrosinase
NGBS neoglucobrassicin
PAL phenylalanine ammonia-lyase
SIN sinigrin
ST5b sulfotransferase
TGG1 myrosinase
UFGT, UDP-glucose flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase
UGT74B1 UDP-glycosyltransferase

 

References

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