Genetic Analysis for Fruit Phenolics Content, Flesh Color, and Browning Related Traits in Eggplant (Solanum melongena)

Eggplant varieties rich in bioactive chlorogenic acid along with less browning are preferred by consumers. Therefore, genetics of fruit phenolics, fruit flesh colour, and browning related traits were studied in the genotypes of eggplant, comprising of nine cultivated varieties and one accession of eggplant‘s primary genepool wild relative Solanum insanum (INS2). These accessions were genotyped based on the 7335 polymorphic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers. After that, genotypes were crossed in half diallel fashion to produce 45 hybrids. The INS2 displayed the highest values for the total phenolics and chlorogenic acid content (CGA). For all of the biochemical traits studied, significant values of general and specific combining ability (GCA and SCA) effects were determined. The baker ratio estimates were high (>0.75) for all of the traits. Highly significant and positive heterosis (%) was determined for the dry matter, total phenolics, CGA, and area (%) of CGA content. The phenolics content of the fruit (total phenolics and CGA) was not significantly correlated with flesh colour and browning related traits. However, when the path coefficient analysis was performed considering the CGA as a dependent variable, it was determined that the flesh colour related traits most considerably affected the CGA. The genetic distance showed a diminutive correlation with the hybrid means, heterosis, and SCA values. Overall, this study provides important information regarding the underlying genetics of important biochemical traits of eggplant fruit.

Phenolics and carotenoids contents and radical scavenging capacity of some selected solanaceous medicinal plants

Plants being an important source of medicine play significant role in human health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate thetotal phenolics and carotenoids contents, and free radical scavenging capacity of leaves and fruits of selected five solanaceous medicinal plants, namely Solanum melongena (brinjal), Solanum torvum (tit begun), Solanum virginianum (kantikari), Solanum sisymbrifolium (sada kantikari) and Solanum nigrum (futi begun). Carotenoids content in the leaves and fruits of solanaceous plants varied significantly among the species. Leaf phenolics content ranged between 147.40 (S. melongena) and 585.15 (S. virginianum) mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g fresh weight, while fruit phenolics content varied from 50.52 (S. nigrum) to 105.02 (S. virginianum) mg GAE/100 g fresh weight. IC50 values for scavenging 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) radical ranged between 31.52 (S. nigrum) and 33.55 (S. melongena) mg mL−1 in leaf, while in fruit it ranged between 27.90 (S. virginianum) and 33.11 (S. melongena) mg mL−1. The highest carotenoids content (0.370 mg g−1 fresh weight) was measured from Solanum nigrum leaf. S. virginianum leaf contained about 4−fold high phenolics content than that in S. melongena. S. nigrum leaf had about 15−fold high carotenoids content (0.370 mg g−1 fresh weight). compared to S. torvum and S. virginianum fruits (0.024 mg g−1FW in each). Because of the highest fruit phenolics and carotenoids content along with the lowest IC50 values for scavenging DPPH, S. virginianum fruit can be considered as superior for its health beneficial biochemical constituentsJ. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(1): 56-61, April 2018