Effect of Soil Composition on Secondary Metabolites of Moroccan Saffron (<i>Crocus sativus</i> L.)
Soukaina Chaouqi,
Natalia Moratalla-López,
Gonzalo L. Alonso,
Cándida Lorenzo,
Abdelmjid Zouahri,
Nazha Asserar,
El Mehdi Haidar,
Taoufiq Guedira
Affiliations
Soukaina Chaouqi
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Catalysis and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, BP 242, Kenitra 14000, Morocco
Natalia Moratalla-López
Cátedra de Química Agrícola, ETSI Agrónomos y de Montes de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Gonzalo L. Alonso
Cátedra de Química Agrícola, ETSI Agrónomos y de Montes de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Cándida Lorenzo
Cátedra de Química Agrícola, ETSI Agrónomos y de Montes de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Abdelmjid Zouahri
Environment and Natural Resources Conservation Research Unit, INRA, CRRA, BP 6356, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Nazha Asserar
Laboratory of Botany and Plant Protection, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, BP 133, Kenitra 14000, Morocco
El Mehdi Haidar
Department of Mineral Chemistry, Mining Laboratories Division, ONHYM, Campus: 34, Avenue Al Fadila, City Yakoun El Mansour, BP 8030, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Taoufiq Guedira
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Catalysis and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, BP 242, Kenitra 14000, Morocco
Climate and soil are important factors that affect the quality of saffron. Saffron quality is determined by the marked content of secondary metabolites. The objective of this work was to study the effect of soil physicochemical properties on the secondary metabolites of saffron. Our study concerned the analysis of saffron samples by high-performance liquid chromatography-detection by diode array (HPLC-DAD). Soil samples were analyzed by physicochemical methods, ED-XRF fluorescence and X-ray diffraction to determine the different types of clays. Saffron samples grown in loam–clay–sand soils contained high values of crocins and kaempferol 3-sophoroside 7-glucoside but low values of safranal. In addition, saffron samples grown in soils rich in organic matter, phosphorus and potassium contained high values of crocins and kaempferol 3-sophoroside 7-glucoside but low values of safranal. This original approach was carried out for the first time in our study, both by ED-XRF fluorescence and by X-ray diffraction, to determine what elements affect the quality of saffron. Thus, we concluded that clays containing low amounts of iron could have a positive effect on the coloring strength of saffron.
