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Background: Traditional varieties of tomato, usually associated with excellent organoleptic quality, are increasingly appreciated in European quality markets. A collection of 126 populations of 16 traditional varieties from the east of Spain (a secondary diversity center for tomato) have been evaluated over 2 years in order to determine their potential value as sources of functional compounds, including ascorbic acid, lycopene, β-carotene and total phenolic content., Results: Population and population × year interaction significantly affected lycopene and ascorbic acid contents, while year effect was also significant for β-carotene. Despite finding some global trends in certain varieties concerning their functional value, high levels of variation have been found at the intra-varietal level. Populations with high levels of the compounds analysed have been found, as well as different levels of intra-population and inter-year variation. Maximum mean contents for both years have reached 308 mg kg(-1) ascorbic acid, 130 mg kg(-1) lycopene, 30 mg kg(-1) β-carotene and 89 mg caffeic acid 100 g(-1) total phenolic contents, though it is difficult to identify accessions with joint high values of the three compounds., Conclusion: These results open the possibility to promote traditional materials as sources of functional compounds, thus strengthening their quality niches and consolidating their price premium. Additionally, these materials could also be used in breeding programs for quality., (© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Peppers (Capsicum spp.) are one of the most important vegetables and their double use (vegetable or spice) and two commercial stages (unripe and fully ripe) contributed to their use in many recipes and fast diffusion from America. Nowadays, Spain is a center of diversity for C. annuum, with many landraces, offering a great opportunity for adaptation to organic cultivation. Furthermore, Capsicum peppers contain many bioactive compounds, essential to provide high added-value to these cultivars, especially for organic markets, although knowledge about the effect of organic cultivation on Capsicum fruit quality is still scarce. Here, 37 accessions of Spanish landraces and foreign materials from C. annuum and other species were grown under organic and conventional conditions and evaluated for ascorbic acid (AAC), total phenolics (TP) and total red and yellow/orange carotenoids, considering both ripening stages. A large genotypic variation was found within each ripening stage and growing condition for the studied traits. Also, both stages showed high levels, although fully ripe fruits were the richest. Organic conditions enabled higher levels in fully ripe fruits of AAC and TP on average (135 vs 117 mg·100 g-1 and 232 vs 206 mg·100 g-1) and in most accessions, although the genotype×growing conditions interaction also contributed, but at lower extent, to the observed variation. Significant genotype×ripening stage and growing conditions×ripening stage interactions were also found, suggesting that the magnitude of the increase with ripening depends on the accession and growing conditions. By contrast, there were no differences between growing conditions for carotenoids and differences were mainly due to the genotype factor. Finally, the large genotypic variation and favourable organic conditions allowed identifying several materials from different types and uses with very high levels of bioactive compounds for organic cultivation, in both ripening stages but particularly at fully ripe stage (>500 mg·100 g-1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pepino ( Solanum muricatum ) fruits from 15 accessions of cultivated pepino as well as six accessions from wild relatives were evaluated for contents in dry matter, protein, β-carotene, chlorophylls and seven minerals. Several-fold differences among accessions were found for most traits. Average values obtained were similar to those of melon and cucumber, but the phenolic contents were much higher. Wild species had significantly higher average contents for all traits vs. the cultivated pepino accessions. And, the comparisons among the cultivated pepino varieties showed that the modern varieties were more uniform in composition, and they possessed significantly lower concentrations of protein, P, K, and Zn than local land races. Most of the significant correlations among composition traits were positive. Our studies show that regular consumption of pepino fruits could make a significant contribution to the recommended daily intake of P, K, Fe and Cu as well as to the average daily intake of phenolics. Furthermore, the higher values for most nutrients measured in the wild species and in the local land races indicate that new pepino varieties with improved fruit contents in nutrient and bioactive compounds can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated 23 tree tomato ( Solanum betaceum ) accessions from five cultivar groups and one wild relative ( Solanum cajanumense ) for 26 composition traits. For all traits we found highly significant differences ( P < 0.001) among the materials studied. The high diversity found within S. betaceum for composition traits was matched by a high diversity within each of the cultivar groups. We found that sucrose and citric acid were the most important soluble sugar and organic acid, respectively, in tree tomato. Fruit in the anthocyanin pigmented (purple) group had a carotenoid content similar to that in the yellow–orange cultivar groups. Total phenolic content was significantly correlated ( r = 0.8607) with antioxidant activity. Analyses of mineral content showed that tree tomato is a good source of K, Mg, and Cu. Multivariate principal components analysis (PCA) confirmed that an important diversity exists within each cultivar group. The results we have obtained indicate that the high diversity found within the tree tomato could be exploited for selection and breeding for developing the tree tomato as a commercial crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) local varieties are having an increasing demand. We characterized 69 local tomato accessions from eight cultivar groups for proximate composition traits, major sugars, acids and antioxidants. A large diversity was found, with differences among accessions of almost tenfold for lycopene. Significant differences were found among cultivar group means for most traits. The Cherry and Penjar groups generally presented higher dry matter, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, taste index, β-carotene, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, and antioxidant activity that the other groups. Wide ranges of variation were found within each cultivar group. Positive correlations were found between proximate traits related to taste and antioxidants. The multivariate principal components analysis confirms the distinct profile of the Cherry and Penjar groups and the large variation within groups. The results will be useful for the differentiation, enhancement and selection of local tomato varieties with improved organoleptic properties and functional quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]