Biochemical profile of leaf, silk and grain samples of eight maize landraces (Zea Mays L.) cultivated in two low-input agricultural systems

Virgílio Gavicho Uarrota, Ricardo Brasil Severino, Carina Malinowsky, Simone Kobe de Oliveira, Shirley Kuhnen, Rosendo Augusto Yunes, Marcelo Maraschin

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7 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the biochemical profile of leaf, silk and grain samples of eight maize landraces (Zea maysL.) cultivated in southern Brazil. To accomplish this, reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography-UV-visible (RP-HPLC-UV-vis), UV-vis spectrophotometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and chemometrics were used to examine carotenoids and their isomers, anthocyanin and phenolic acids. Leaf tissue samples showed higher amounts of carotenoids (838.6μg/g - Língua de Papagaio variety), anthocyanins (405.8μg/g - Palha Roxa variety) and phenolics (655.0μg/g - Roxo variety), followed by maize silks and grains. RP-HPLC-UV-vis analysis of grain extracts revealed xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin as the major compounds. The anthocyanin profile by MALDI-TOF MS identified pelargonidin, cyanidin, peonidin, malvidin and glucoside derivatives in leaf extracts, and silk samples were shown to contain cyanidin, peonidin and 7-methoxy-apigeninidin glucoside. These findings indicate that the discarded material, i.e., leaves and silks, can be prospected as bioactive biomasses useful to industrial sectors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)551-562
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Food Biochemistry
Volume38
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2014
Externally publishedYes

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