Celery is one of the major nutraceutical vegetable species due to the high dietary and medicinal properties of all of its plant parts. Yield, growth and produce quality of six celery genotypes belonging to leafy (Elixir and Samurai), stalk (Atlant and Primus) or root (Egor and Dobrynya) types, as well as the distribution of biomass, sugars, mineral elements and antioxidants among the different plant parts, were assessed. Within the celery root type, cultivar Dobrynya resulted in higher yield than Egor, whereas the genotype did not significantly affect the marketable plant part production of leafy and stalk types. Leaf/petiole ratios relevant to biomass, total dissolved solids, sugars, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, antioxidant activity and ash, K, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and Se content were significantly affected by the celery type examined. Ash content was highest in the leaves and lowest in the roots. Celery antioxidant system was characterized by highly significant relationships between ascorbic acid, polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant activity and Zn. Among the celery types analyzed, the highest values of chlorophyll, Fe and Mn content as well as antioxidant activity were recorded in leaves from root genotypes, which suggests interesting nutraceutical prospects of the aforementioned plant parts for human utilization. Plants 2020, 9, 484 2 of 13 of celery gives the opportunity to prevent and treat several diseases, such as cardiovascular [6], liver and spleen diseases [7], rheumatism [8], inflammation [9], cancer [10] and gastrointestinal disorders [11]. Studies carried out on laboratory animals showed that the ethanolic extract of celery leaves increased spermatogenesis [12] and improved fertility [13,14]. In addition, celery was found to decrease glucose level and improve lipid profile in blood [15], and stabilize blood pressure [16].All parts of celery plants are edible: leaves, petioles, roots and seeds, either fresh or canned, or dry as spices [17]. In this respect, despite the wide utilization of Apium graveolens L., up-to-date research has not paid much attention to the comparative assessment of biochemical characteristics of different celery types, namely, leafy, stalk and root genotypes [2]. The investigation of Sellami et al. [3] demonstrated the peculiarities of essential oil composition of celery leaves, stalks and roots, but did not compare different celery types.Gaining a more in-depth knowledge regarding the aforementioned topics may lead to unveiling the nutrient and antioxidant accumulation potential in celery plants, which is of great importance for targeting functional food production.The present investigation was aimed to assess yield, growth and produce quality of leafy, stalk and root celery types, as well as the distribution of biomass, organic and mineral compounds, and antioxidants among the different plant parts, grown in the Northern Hemisphere. The results were frequently expressed as ratios between the variables assessed, which showed lower variability than the absolute values.as an average o...

The essentiality of selenium (Se) and iodine (I) for the human organism and the relationship between these two trace elements in mammal metabolism highlight the importance of the joint Se–I biofortification to vegetable crops in the frame of sustainable farming management. A research study was carried out in southern Italy to determine the effects of the combined inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biofortification with Se and I on plant growth, seed yield, quality, and antioxidant and elemental status, as well as residual biomass chemical composition of chickpea grown in two different planting times (14 January and 28 February). The AMF application improved the intensity of I and Se accumulation both in single and joint supply of these elements, resulting in higher seed yield and number as well as dry weight, and was also beneficial for increasing the content of antioxidants, protein, and macro- and microelements. Earlier planting time resulted in higher values of seed yield, as well as Se, I, N, P, Ca, protein, and antioxidant levels. Se and I showed a synergistic effect, stimulating the accumulation of each other in chickpea seeds. The AMF inoculation elicited a higher protein and cellulose synthesis, as well as glucose production in the residual biomass, compared to the single iodine application and the untreated control. From the present research, it can be inferred that the plant biostimulation through the soil inoculation with AMF and the biofortification with Se and I, applied singly or jointly, proved to be effective sustainable farming tools for improving the chickpea seed yield and/or quality, as well as the residual biomass chemical composition for energy production or beneficial metabolite extraction.

No abstract

Антиоксидантный статус сельдерея (Apium graveolens L.) РЕЗЮМЕ Актуальность. Лекарственные свойства сельдерея (Apium graveolens L.) в значительной степени связаны с высоким антиоксидантным статусом растений. Методы и результаты. Сравнительная оценка накопления полифенолов, аскорбиновой кислоты, флавоноидов и фотосинтетических пигментов листовыми, черешковыми и корневыми разновидностями сельдерея, выращенными в одинаковых условиях на экспериментальных полях ФГБНУ ФНЦО, позволила выявить ряд закономерностей, характерных для каждой разновидности. Показано, что антиоксидантная активность семян, листьев,

The onion sweet bulb genotypes grown in the Crimean republic (Russia) have a high nutritional value, but have been poorly characterized so far. Research was carried out in order to assess quality, antioxidant and mineral composition features of 9 Crimean genotypes in comparison with the Italian sweet variety 'Tropea'. 'Yaltinsky 6А' showed the highest yield. Beam Promine attained the highest values of bulb dry residue, soluble solids and total sugars, but the lowest monosaccharides content. The Crimean genotypes showed higher levels of ascorbic acid and total acidity than 'Tropea', but lower concentrations of Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn. The Crimean genotypes examined showed interesting yield and quality performances, and also the potentiality to valorizing the bulb peel for extracting health-beneficial compounds such as antioxidants.