Impact of drought stress on vitamin C and anthocyanin content in cultivated lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.) and wild relatives (Lactuca spp.).

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Lettuce production and quality could be seriously affected by the increasingly limited water resources.

Methods

The effect of drought on the content of two antioxidant compounds, vitamin C and anthocyanins, in five cultivated lettuces and two wild relatives was assessed for 2 years.

Results and discusion

In leaf samples, Lactuca wild species generally had a higher content of total vitamin C than the cultivated lettuces. In contrast, the commercial varieties usually contained more total anthocyanins than the wild species. Total vitamin C decreased with the drought stress in all accessions, commercial varieties, and lettuce wild relatives, with this tendency being consistent and reproducible across the 2 years. These differences were significant in t

SUBMITTER: Medina-Lozano I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10983614 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature