Influence of Cultivation Site on Sesquiterpene Lactone Composition of Forage Chicory (Cichorium intybusL.)

Abstract

The forage potential of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) has not been realized in southern West Virginia (WV) because ruminants are reluctant to consume the herbage. Chicory contains bitter sesquiterpene lactones that can adversely impact palatability. This study was undertaken to determine whether sesquiterpene lactone concentrations in chicory grown in southern WV differ from those in chicory grown in central Pennsylvania (PA) where chicory is grazed readily. Herbage was collected in 1997 and 1998 from cultivars Grasslands Puna (Puna), INIA le Lacerta (Lacerta), and Forage Feast established at research sites near State College, PA, and Beckley, WV. The total concentration of sesquiterpene lactones in WV-grown cultivars was 0.58% (dry matter basis) in Puna, 0.59% in Lacerta, and 0.79% in Forage Feast in 1997 and ranged from 1.03 (Lacerta) to 1.52% (Forage Feast) in 1998. In PA-grown cultivars, sesquiterpene lactones represented 0.16 (Puna), 0.18 (Lacerta), and 0.27% (Forage Feast) of the forage dry matter in 1997 and ranged from 0.32 (Lacerta) to 0.55% (Forage Feast) in 1998. Concentrations of lactucin, lactucopicrin, and total sesquiterpene lactones in Forage Feast exceeded those in the other cultivars grown at the same site. The lowest concentrations of lactucopicrin and total sesquiterpene lactones observed among WV-grown cultivars were higher (2-fold or more) than the highest concentrations present in cultivars grown the same year in PA. Mineral analyses of soils from the two cultivation sites indicate that P availability may influence sesquiterpene lactone composition of chicory herbage. Results provide a foundation for future studies of environmental effects on sesquiterpene lactone composition and palatability of chicory herbage.

Variation of sesquiterpene lactones and phenolics in chicory and endive germplasm

“…As observed in the present study, the highest total SL concentration was determined in Sugarloaf samples, followed by Radicchio and endive accessions. Higher SL concentrations in comparison to our results were found by Foster et al (2006) in three forage chicory cultivars cultivated in Pennsylvania and West Virginia on two subsequent years.…”

An update procedure for an effective and simultaneous extraction of sesquiterpene lactones and phenolics from chicory

“…Nevertheless, they did not report any quantitative data about the distribution of SL in chicory varieties or an evaluation of the effectiveness of the method in recovering SL. In a recent study about the effect of cultivation site on SL composition of forage chicory, Foster et al (2006) employed the same analytical procedure reported by Tamaki et al (1995) but even in this case the levels of saturated SL was not evaluated. In ten forage chicory cultivars, LAT, 8-DELAT, PICR and total SL were at levels of 420-3650, 430-3960, 530-9360, and 1770-15,240 mg/kg of dry matter, respectively.…”

“…SL extraction from several Asteraceae species has been carried out by means of different solvents or solvent mixtures such as water (Poli et al, 2002), methanol (Foster et al, 2006;Michalska et al, 2009), ethyl acetate/methanol/chloroform/ethanol (Van Beek et al, 1990), water/methanol (Leven & Willuhn, 1987), ethanol (Kisiel & Michalska, 2008;Ortet, Prado, Mouray, & Thomas, 2008;Schmidt, Ilic, Poulev, & Raskin, 2007).…”

Natural sesquiterpenoids

“…385 The influence of the cultivation site on the guaianolide composition of Cichorium intybus has been studied. 386 Some of the lactones isolated from Eupatorium capillifolium showed potent inhibitory effects on the growth of HeLa cells, 387 whilst cynaropicrin has been shown to be a potent and irreversible inhibitor of the antibacterial target enzyme MurA. 257 The biotransformation of dehydrocostuslactone by the fungus Mucor polymorphosporus has been investigated.…”