Antioxidants content in Brassica oleracea var. acephala from dry seed to plantlet.

Vegetables belonging to the Brassicaceae family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts) are generally appreciated for their health benefits, since regular intake can prevent the occurrence of many human diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and decreases the risk of many forms of cancer (1). The active components in Brassicaceae are mainly represented by antioxidant molecules (polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins E and C and glucosinolates) which possess antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and appear to contribute to chemopreventive activity in colon, stomach and lung cancer (2). The aim of this research was to analyse the antioxidants activity of Brassica oleracea var acephala (black cabbage) considering plant portions at different developmental stages. For this purpose antioxidant determinations were carried out on seeds dry or imbibed for 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 days, immediately dissected into cotyledons and embryonic axes after removal of seed coat and on plantlets grown for 14, 23, 37 days separated into cotyledons and young leaves. All the extracts were spectrophotometrically analysed for total antioxidant activity, by the electron-transfer based assays DPPH (2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (3) and for Vitamin C (4, 5), total phenols (6) and flavonoids (7) content. Data were analyzed considering both fresh and dry weight of the different plant samples. Mass spectrometry, by using electrospray ionization, high resolution and tandem mass spectrometry, have been used to determine the analytes present in the different samples. Results generally indicated a major antioxidant activity in cotyledons of sprouts collected 4 and 10 days from imbibition when compared to dry seeds or leaves from plantlets of 37 days. Our determinations demonstrated that black cabbage sprouts were particularly rich in antioxidant molecules, in accordance with previous works carried out on Brassicaceae and on other vegetables where it was reported that sprouts have higher nutritional value when compared to the mature plants (8, 9, 10). For this reason, regular consumption of sprouts from different vegetables is recommended to get the maximum nutritional value and protective effects on human health.