Purslane is a nutritious vegetable crop rich in the polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (PUEFA) alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) and linoleic acid (LA), which are essential for normal human growth, health promotion, and disease prevention. Total lipids and fatty acid concentrations at three stages of harvest (6-, 10-, and 14-true-leaf stages) were examined in a cultivated variety of purslane (Portulaca oleraceae L. var. sativa). The 14-true-leaf stage of growth was found to be ideal for harvest because at this stage the leaf area, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and PUEFA concentrations per gram of leaf fresh weight were higher (P < or = 0.05) than at the 6- and 10-true-leaf stages of growth. The LNA to LA ratio was also highest at the 14-true-leaf stage.
Differences in color development between exposed and shaded fruit during the growing season were determined for `Loring' and `Raritan Rose' peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch). The surface color of fruit exposed to sunlight in the upper canopy, and in the shade in the lower canopy, was measured with a tristimulus calorimeter, and L* a* b* values were recorded for each fruit from 17 July through harvest. Color changes (ΔE* ab) during maturation for both cultivars at either canopy position were characterized by large changes in hue (Δ H*ab) and lesser changes in lightness (Δ L*ab) and chroma (Δ C*ab). Upper canopy fruit of both cultivars were redder and darker than the lower canopy fruit initially and at harvest. Flesh firmness for `Loring' and `Raritan Rose' tended to correlate with color change from initial sampling to harvest.
Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R.Br.) is the richest source of glucosinolate nasturtiin, which on hydrolysis produces phenethyl isothiocyante (PEITC). Interest in growing watercress is stimulated since demonstration of the role of PEITC in protection against cancers associated with tobacco specific carcinogens. Twenty-one days old watercress seedlings were transplanted into growth chambers (16-h days/8-h nights of 25/22 degrees C and photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) of approximately 265 micromol m(-2) s(-)(1)). The study was replicated three times. Leaves were analyzed for PEITC and ascorbic acid concentrations at transplant, and harvested at 10-days intervals until 60 days after transplant. The PEITC and ascorbic acid concentrations were the highest in leaves harvested at 40 days and the lowest at transplant. Leaves harvested at 40 days produced about 150% higher PEITC concentrations compared to the leaves at transplant. Both PEITC and ascorbic acid concentrations of leaves increased linearly with age until 40 days after transplant after which there was no significant increase. Seedlings at transplant had the lowest dry mass and leaf area, while plants harvested at 60 days had the highest dry mass and leaf area.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) has been identified as an exceptionally rich source of α-linolenic acid (LNA), an essential fatty acid that is beneficial in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease and certain cancers. In general, about two thirds of the LNA in terrestrial plants is associated with chloroplasts. A green-leafed unnamed cultivar of purslane and a golden-leafed cultivar `Goldberg' were grown hydroponically in a complete nutrient solution with 14.3 mm nitrogen provided as nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) forms to yield NO3--N: NH4+-N ratios of 1:0, 0.75:0.25, 0.5:0.5, and 0.25:0.75. Young leaves, harvested 18 days after treatment initiation, were analyzed to determine the fatty acid composition and concentrations, and thylakoid protein and chlorophyll concentrations. Although the leaves of plants grown with a NO3--N: NH4+-N ratio of 0.5:0.5 contained 239% and 114% more LNA than plants grown with ratios 1:0 and 0.75:0.25, respectively, they contained only 41% and 26% more chlorophyll. The green-leafed cultivar had higher (39%) chlorophyll concentrations than `Goldberg', but both cultivars had similar LNA concentrations [per g dry weight (DW)]. These results suggest that the LNA concentration in the fatty acid-rich species P. oleracea may not be as closely associated with chlorophyll concentration as reported earlier for other plants. Leaves of plants grown in solutions with 0.25:0.75 NO3--N: NH4+-N ratio contained 35% less LNA per g leaf DW than the leaves of plants grown in nutrient solutions with a 0.5:0.5 ratio. Although total DW production was not affected by the NO3--N: NH 4+-N ratios in the nutrient solutions, the green-leafed cultivar produced higher fresh weight, leaf area, total DW, and number of shoots than `Goldberg'.
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