SCIENCE@home

Reduced nitrogen supply enhances the cellular antioxidant potential of phenolic extracts through alteration of the phenolic composition in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

Weiwei Zhou,Xin Liang,Yimo Zhang,Kejie Li,Bingjie Jin,Lingli Lu,C. Jin,Xianyong Lin

Published 2019 in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Nitrogen availability is an important environmental factor that determines the production of phenolic compounds in vegetables, but the relationship between low nitrogen-induced alterations of phenolic compounds in vegetable crops and the cellular antioxidant activities of these compounds remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of reduced nitrogen supply (0.05 mmol L-1 nitrate) on phenolic metabolism in lettuce and the protective role of phenolic extracts against H2 O2 -induced oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells by determining cell damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and antioxidant enzyme activities. RESULTS Reduced nitrogen supply significantly improved the accumulation of phenolic compounds in lettuce, which was partially correlated with the upregulation of genes related to the phenolic synthesis pathway. Phenolic extracts from lettuce cultivated in low-nitrogen medium exhibited a better protective effect against H2 O2 -induced oxidative damage in Caco-2 cells than those from lettuce cultivated with adequate nitrogen. These extracts act by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes and, subsequently, by inhibiting ROS overproduction, which leads to a decrease in mitochondrial membrane and DNA damage. The results of HPLC and correlation analyses implied that the improvement in the protective capacity of lettuce extracts after low-nitrogen treatment may be related, not only to the increased content of phenolic compounds, but also to the increased percentage contribution of chlorogenic acid and quercetin derivatives to the total phenolic content. CONCLUSION Reduction in nitrogen supply can be a powerful strategy to modify phenolic metabolism and composition in lettuce and, consequently, to improve their antioxidant capacity. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2019

  • Venue

    The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

  • Publication date

    2019-08-15

  • Fields of study

    Agricultural and Food Sciences, Medicine, Chemistry, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1002/jsfa.9721PMID 30932195
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar, PubMed

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-36 of 36 references · Page 1 of 1

CITED BY

Showing 1-18 of 18 citing papers · Page 1 of 1