Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens leaves (red rubin basil): a source of bioactive compounds and natural pigments for the food industry

Abstract

Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens leaves are a rich source of bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity, which could be considered as an excellent ingredient for the food industry.

The Effect of Nitrogen Input on Chemical Profile and Bioactive Properties of Green- and Red-Colored Basil Cultivars

“…The highest concentrations of total free sugars were consistently observed in plants fertigated with the highest level of N input. Except for the absence of trehalose, these findings are in agreement with the ones of previous reports [ 30 , 32 ] and suggest that, in all the tested genotypes, the higher levels of N input are associated with enhanced content of total free sugars.…”

“…The energetic value ranging from 351 to 362 kcal/100 g was influenced by both genotype and N input but with no consistent trends being observed. In agreement with previous studies that examined the nutritional value of basil leaves, in this study protein and carbohydrates were the major macronutrients [ 30 , 31 ], although higher levels of proteins were observed in this study in plants nourished with higher levels of N. Examining the nutritional value of dry green basil, Pereira et al [ 32 ] observed similar levels of ash, but substantially higher levels of carbohydrates and lower levels of proteins compared to the present study. Such differences may be associated with different drying methods [ 33 ], different environmental conditions, and particularly to a lower level of N supply during cultivation and to genotypic differences [ 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

“…Examining the profile of free sugars in basil leaves, a significant interaction was recorded for the genotype and N input effects ( Table 2 ). Three soluble sugars were detected: glucose, fructose, and sucrose, whereas trehalose which was referred in previous studies [ 30 , 32 ] was not detected in this case. Glucose was the main sugar detected (3.4 g/100 g dw on average), followed by fructose (1.5 g/100 g dw on average) and sucrose (0.95 g/100 g dw on average) for all the genotypes with the exception of Basilico Rosso that regardless the level of N input had the highest concentration of sucrose (2.2 g/100 g dw on average) and a relatively lower content of fructose (0.9 g/100 g dw on average) compared to the other genotypes tested.…”

“…On average, the content of γ- and δ-tocopherol was almost equivalent within each genotype with the highest values observed for Dark Opal basil and the lowest content observed in the green basil. The tocopherol profile observed in this study was similar to the profile observed by the authors [ 38 ] in green basil, while did not match with the profile reported by the authors [ 30 ] who found all four vitamers of vitamin E (α-, β-, γ-, and δ-tocopherol) in the leaves of O. basilicum var. purpurascens , with γ-tocopherol prevailing over the other isomers.…”

“…The main organic acids identified were quinic, oxalic, and shikimic acid, while ascorbic acid was detected only in traces ( Table 1 ). Fernandes et al [ 30 ] reported a different organic acids profile in O. basilicum var. purpurascens leaves since they also detected malic, citric, fumaric, and ascorbic acid; however, consistently with this study, quinic acid was the primary compound.…”