engleski

Changes in the content of chlorophylls during vegetation of mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.) leaves grown in Croatia

Mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.) is an evergreen shrub with a strong characteristic aroma and green leaves, widely spread along Mediterranean countries. Different parts of P. lentiscus (aerial part, leaves, fruit and resin) have been traditionally used in the treatment of hypertension, gastrointestinal diseases and throat infections due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and antimicrobial effects. These health promoting properties of mastic tree have been attributed to the presence of various bioactive compounds (phenolics, triterpenoids, pigments). Chlorophylls are pigments responsible for the green colour of plants and are largely determining photosynthetic capacity and plant growth. Apart from their functional role in photosynthesis, chlorophylls act as protective factors against excessive UV radiation and oxidative stress. Their content varies upon genetic factors, season, phenological stage, harvest time, geographical origin and environment in which the leaves have developed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the content of chlorophylls present in P. lentiscus leaves grown in four locations in Croatia (Barbariga, Lun, Hvar and Korčula) and harvested during three phenological stages (flowering stage in May, early fruiting in August and late fruiting stage in October). The extraction and analysis of chlorophyll content was performed conventionally with 80% aqueous solution of methanol and by UV-VIS spectrophotometry, respectively. Results of statistical analysis showed that influence of growing location and phenological stage as well as their interaction had a significant impact on chlorophylls content in mastic tree leaves samples (p<0.01). Generally, methanolic extracts of leaves harvested in May showed higher content of chlorophylls than those of leaves harvested in October (3.10 – 5.20 vs. 0.15 – 5.18 mg of pheophytin a/kg). The highest decrease in chlorophylls content during leaves vegetation was present in samples from Hvar growing location (67.33 - 97.04%), while samples from Lun growing location showed the lowest decrease (8.93 - 9.48%).

Pistacia lentiscus L. leaves ; chlorophylls ; phenological stage ; growing location

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