TY - JOUR
T1 - Wild and domesticated Moringa oleifera differ in taste, glucosinolate composition, and antioxidant potential, but not myrosinase activity or protein content
AU - Chodur, Gwen M.
AU - Olson, Mark E.
AU - Wade, Kristina L.
AU - Stephenson, Katherine K.
AU - Nouman, Wasif
AU - Garima,
AU - Fahey, Jed W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We very gratefully thank: Gail Vance Civille (Sensory Spectrum, Inc.), who gave generously of her time to describe moringa accession taste in precise, sensory analyst terms, Jesús Navarro-Parra and taste test participants. We are indebted to The Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Foundation, whose generosity over the years has enabled much of our work, and to Trees for Life International, which made specific donations to the International Moringa Germplasm Collection. This work was also supported by the Programa de Apoyo a Poyectos de Investigación e Innovación Technológica, UNAM (IT200515) and by CONACyT grant 132404 to MEO.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Taste drives consumption of foods. The tropical tree Moringa oleifera is grown worldwide as a protein-rich leafy vegetable and for the medicinal value of its phytochemicals, in particular its glucosinolates, which can lead to a pronounced harsh taste. All studies to date have examined only cultivated, domestic variants, meaning that potentially useful variation in wild type plants has been overlooked. We examine whether domesticated and wild type M. oleifera differ in myrosinase or glucosinolate levels, and whether these different levels impact taste in ways that could affect consumption. We assessed taste and measured levels of protein, glucosinolate, myrosinase content, and direct antioxidant activity of the leaves of 36 M. oleifera accessions grown in a common garden. Taste tests readily highlighted differences between wild type and domesticated M. oleifera. There were differences in direct antioxidant potential, but not in myrosinase activity or protein quantity. However, these two populations were readily separated based solely upon their proportions of the two predominant glucosinolates (glucomoringin and glucosoonjnain). This study demonstrates substantial variation in glucosinolate composition within M. oleifera. The domestication of M. oleifera appears to have involved increases in levels of glucomoringin and substantial reduction of glucosoonjnain, with marked changes in taste.
AB - Taste drives consumption of foods. The tropical tree Moringa oleifera is grown worldwide as a protein-rich leafy vegetable and for the medicinal value of its phytochemicals, in particular its glucosinolates, which can lead to a pronounced harsh taste. All studies to date have examined only cultivated, domestic variants, meaning that potentially useful variation in wild type plants has been overlooked. We examine whether domesticated and wild type M. oleifera differ in myrosinase or glucosinolate levels, and whether these different levels impact taste in ways that could affect consumption. We assessed taste and measured levels of protein, glucosinolate, myrosinase content, and direct antioxidant activity of the leaves of 36 M. oleifera accessions grown in a common garden. Taste tests readily highlighted differences between wild type and domesticated M. oleifera. There were differences in direct antioxidant potential, but not in myrosinase activity or protein quantity. However, these two populations were readily separated based solely upon their proportions of the two predominant glucosinolates (glucomoringin and glucosoonjnain). This study demonstrates substantial variation in glucosinolate composition within M. oleifera. The domestication of M. oleifera appears to have involved increases in levels of glucomoringin and substantial reduction of glucosoonjnain, with marked changes in taste.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047626506&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85047626506&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-26059-3
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-26059-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 29789671
AN - SCOPUS:85047626506
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 8
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 7995
ER -