Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Some Open-Field Ancient-Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L.) Genotypes and Promising Breeding Lines
Yosr Laayouni,
Imen Tlili,
Imen Henane,
Ahlem Ben Ali,
Márton Égei,
Sándor Takács,
Muhammad Azam,
Mohammed Wasim Siddiqui,
Hussein Daood,
Zoltàn Pék,
Lajos Helyes,
Thouraya R’him,
Marcello Salvatore Lenucci,
Riadh Ilahy
Affiliations
Yosr Laayouni
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Jarzouna, University of Carthage, Tunis 7021, Tunisia
Imen Tlili
Laboratory of Horticulture, National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Ariana 1004, Tunisia
Imen Henane
Laboratory of Horticulture, National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Ariana 1004, Tunisia
Ahlem Ben Ali
Laboratory of Horticulture, National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Ariana 1004, Tunisia
Márton Égei
Laboratory of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Horticultural Institute, Szent István University, Páter K. Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Sándor Takács
Laboratory of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Horticultural Institute, Szent István University, Páter K. Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Muhammad Azam
Pomology Laboratory, Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Mohammed Wasim Siddiqui
Department of Food Science and Postharvest Technology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur 813210, India
Hussein Daood
Laboratory of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Horticultural Institute, Szent István University, Páter K. Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Zoltàn Pék
Laboratory of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Horticultural Institute, Szent István University, Páter K. Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Lajos Helyes
Laboratory of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Horticultural Institute, Szent István University, Páter K. Str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Thouraya R’him
Laboratory of Horticulture, National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Ariana 1004, Tunisia
Marcello Salvatore Lenucci
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali (Di.S.Te.B.A.), Università del Salento, Via Prov.le Lecce Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Riadh Ilahy
Laboratory of Horticulture, National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Ariana 1004, Tunisia
Tomato landraces have progressively faded into obscurity, making way for new hybrids and elite tomato cultivars. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the agronomic attributes, physicochemical properties, and functional traits across seven cultivars, comprising two high-pigment varieties, ‘HLT−F81’ and ‘HLT−F82’, as well as five underutilized ancient-tomato genotypes considered as landraces. Most of the studied genotypes exhibited satisfactory horticultural and processing traits. The average fruit weight ranged from 73.3 g in ‘Rimone’ to 91.83 g in ‘HLT−F81’, while the soluble solids content ranged from 4.66 °Brix in ‘Justar’ to 6.08 °Brix in ‘HLT−F81’. The functional quality and the content of most antioxidants, as well as the antioxidant activity in both hydrophilic and lipophilic fractions, proved to be the most discriminating parameters among the tomato genotypes. The content of β−carotene and lycopene spanned from 2.94 mg kg−1 fw in ‘Rio Grande’ to 13.94 mg kg−1 fw in ‘HLT−F82’ and 227.8 mg kg−1 fw in ‘HLT−F81’, yielding large variations compared to ‘Rio Grande’. The total phenolic content ranged from 139.83 mg GAE kg−1 fw in ‘Rimone’ to 352.41 mg GAE kg−1 fw in ‘HLT-F81’, while the flavonoid content varied from 136.16 mg RE kg−1 fw in ‘Justar’ to 311.23 mg RE kg−1 fw in ‘HLT-F82’. The presence of tocopherol isomers was genotype-dependent, with a higher content in lines carrying the high-pigment mutations. Among the tested tomato genotypes, the high-pigment tomato line ‘HLT−F81’ achieved the highest hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity values. This study primarily focused on the recovery and valorization of tomato genetic resources and landraces. It also aimed to identify desirable horticultural (yield, low-input, and low-water demand), processing (°Brix and titratable acidity), and quality (rich antioxidant berries) traits for introgression into new tomato cultivars better suited to the evolving climate conditions of the near future.
