Content of anthocyans in sweet corn with different grain coloring

Abstract

In connection with the unbalanced nutrition of people, the constant psychological and physical stress of humankind, the spread of diseases of different etymologies, the growing of agricultural crops with high anthocyan content and the obtaining of antioxidants from food products is very actual and requires more in-depth study. Sweet corn has proven itself as a valuable food culture, therefore it is expedient to search and create sweet corn genotypes with high content of anthocyans in grain. The material to be studied was the inbred line of sweet corn (Zea mays L.) CE401 with white coloring grain and the population of F4(CE401×Chornosteblova) with purple coloring grain. Determination of the content of anthocyans was carried out by means of modified method of differential spectrophotometry. The content of four non- glucosidic forms (delphinidin, pelargonidin, peonidin and cyanidin) and four glucoside (delphinidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside) forms of anthocyans have been analyzed. It was established that the total content of the analyzed species and forms of anthocyans in the white grain of the inbred line CE401 was 1174.5 mg/kg, and in the purple grain of the population F4(CE401×Chornosteblova) reached 2951.4 mg/kg, that is, the total content of anthocyans in grain increased in 2.5 times with the intensification of the coloring of sweet corn grain from white to purple. Significant variations in the percentage ratio of anthocyan fractions between two investigated genotypes of sweet corn were not observed. In both genotypes the content of glucosidic forms of anthocyans was almost twice exceeded the content of non-glucosidic forms (63.66% and 63.68% of non- glucosidic forms, respectively, in white and purple grain compared with 36.34% and 36.32% in glucosidic forms). Among the glucosidic forms in both genotypes was predominant peanidin-3-glucoside, and among non-glucosidic – pelargonidin. The intensity of the coloring of sweet corn grain in the purple coloring does not depend on the content or ratio of individual species and forms of anthocyans, but on their total content. The high content of anthocyans in purple maize grain makes it the actual to its using as a source of antioxidants and functional food

Keywords

• Zea mays L.
• species of anthocyans
• glucosidic form of anthocyans
• genotype
• food corn