Genotypic variation in phenolic composition of Cyclopia pubescens (honeybush tea) seedling plants

Publication date: Available online 14 February 2019Source: Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisAuthor(s): Nico A. Walters, Dalene de Beer, André de Villiers, Beata Walczak, Elizabeth JoubertAbstractIncreasing demand for honeybush tea (Cyclopia spp.) and the need for industry expansion have created interest in non-utilised species such as Cyclopia pubescens Eckl. & Zeyh. Very limited information is available on the phenolic composition of this species. A reversed phase core-shell biphenyl column was used to develop and validate a quantitative HPLC diode-array detection method for separation of the major phenolic compounds in C. pubescens. Eight phenolic compounds were identified and a further six tentatively identified by comparison of retention time, UV-Vis and high resolution mass spectrometric characteristics with those of authentic reference standards and literature, respectively. Genotypic variation in the phenolic composition of C. pubescens was determined by analysing the leaves and stems of seedlings (n = 17) in a field gene bank. The xanthone and benzophenone present in the highest levels in the leaves were mangiferin and 3-β-D-glucopyranosyl-4-β-D-glucopyranosyloxyiriflophenone, respectively. The leaves contained higher quantities of all compounds, except hesperidin, the major compound in the stems, and a second hesperetin glycoside. Statistical analysis included hierarchical clustering to determine the degree of dissimilarity between genotypes, which prov...
Source: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis - Category: Food Science Source Type: research