Flavonoids in Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.):  Changes during Plant Growth and Storage

Abstract

The variation in flavonoid concentration and composition was investigated in baby spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) cv. Emilia sown on three occasions, each harvested at three growth stages at 6-day intervals. After harvest, leaves were stored in polypropylene bags at 2 or 10 degrees C. Flavonoids were analyzed by reversed phase HPLC. Twelve flavonoid peaks were detected. The main flavonoid, making up on average 43% of the total flavonoid concentration, was identified as 5,3',4'-trihydroxy-3-methoxy-6:7-methylenedioxyflavone-4'-glucuronide. Four other flavonoids each contributed 7-12% of the total flavonoid content. Total flavonoid content was relatively stable during normal retail storage conditions, although some of the individual flavonoid compounds showed considerable variation. The youngest plants had the highest flavonoid concentration, indicating that by harvesting the baby spinach a few days earlier than the current commercial stage of harvest, the flavonoid concentration in the product may be increased and the content of potentially health-promoting compounds enhanced.

Commercial extract of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum enhances phenolic antioxidant content of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) which protects Caenorhabditis elegans against oxidative and thermal stress

“…The HPLC profiles of these samples were very much the same (data not shown). Based on our MS/MS data and the spinach flavonoids MS data provided in literature (Bergquist, Gertsson, Knuthsen, & Olsson, 2005;Cho, Howard, Prior, & Morelock, 2008), the major flavonoids in the spinach samples were tentatively identified as: peak 1, patuletin-3-glucosyl-(1 ? 6)[apiosyl(1 ?…”

Flavonoid consumption and esophageal cancer among black and white men in the United States

“…The dietary and beverage questionnaires were not specifically designed to estimate flavonoid and proanthocyanidin intake. Furthermore, limitations in the flavonoid and proanthocyanidin composition database, variations in the food quantities of recipes or grouped foods, and variability in flavonoid and proanthocyanidin content due to climatic, growing, soil and harvesting conditions of plants 28 and storage and preparation conditions of foods 6,28,29 will cause measurement error and might have led to attenuated risk estimates. These limitations especially affect risk estimates for flavones, whose intake derives mostly from garnishes and spices.…”

“…It cannot be excluded that cultural differences in storage and preparation of foods, especially of vegetables, 28,29 between black and white populations could contribute to differences in risk estimates for ESCC between black and white men, especially for isoflavonoids. Further research is warranted to quantify the flavonoid and proanthocyanidin content of foods and vegetables with different growing, storage and preparation methods to improve the accuracy of risk estimates for flavonoids and proanthocyanidins in epidemiological studies.…”

Conservação de espinafre (Tetragonia expansa) pelo emprego de radiação gama: aspectos físico-químicos, microbiológicos e sensoriais

“…Estudos sobre o teor de flavonoides têm sido realizados com o "espinafre verdadeiro". Nesse gênero, os flavonoides encontrados são: 5,3′,4′-tri-hidroxi-3-metoxi-6:7-metileno-dioxi-flavona-4′-glucuronidio, spinatosidio-4′-glucuronidio, patuletina, spinacetina, jaceidina (KIDMOSE et al, 2001;BERGQUIST et al, 2005), e os ácidos: orto e para-cumárico, e o ferúlico (BUNEA et al, 2008), diferente dos encontrados no presente estudo para o espinafre Tetragonia expansa, com exceção da apigenina que está presente nos dois tipos de espinafre.…”