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. 2018 Jul 12;23(7):1698.
doi: 10.3390/molecules23071698.

Change of Petals' Color and Chemical Components in Oenothera Flowers during Senescence

Yada Teppabut  1 , Kin-Ichi Oyama  2 , Tadao Kondo  3 , Kumi Yoshida  4
Affiliations

Change of Petals' Color and Chemical Components in Oenothera Flowers during Senescence

Yada Teppabut et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Oenothera flower petals change color during senescence. When in full bloom, the flowers of O. tetraptera are white and those of O. laciniata and O. stricta are yellow. However, the colors change to pink and orange, respectively, when the petals fade. We analyzed the flavonoid components in these petals as a function of senescence using HPLC-DAD and LC-MS. In all three species, cyanidin 3-glucoside (Cy3G) was found in faded petals. The content of Cy3G increased in senescence. In full bloom (0 h), no Cy3G was detected in any of the petals. However, after 12 h, the content of Cy3G in O. tetraptera was 0.97 µmol/g fresh weight (FW) and the content of Cy3G in O. laciniata was 1.82 µmol/g FW. Together with anthocyanins, major flavonoid components in petals were identified. Quercitrin was detected in the petals of O. tetraptera and isosalipurposide was found in the petals of O. laciniata and O. stricta. The content of quercitrin did not change during senescence, but the content of isosalipurposide in O. laciniata increased from 3.4 µmol/g FW at 0 h to 4.8 µmol/g FW at 12 h. The color change in all three Oenothera flowers was confirmed to be due to the de novo biosynthesis of Cy3G.

Keywords: Oenothera; cyanidin 3-O-glucoside; flower senescence; isosalipurposide; petal color change; quercitrin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding agencies had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flower color change in Oenothera petals during senescence. (a) Oenothera tetraptera, (b) Oenothera laciniata, and (c) Oenothera stricta. Scale bars: 1 cm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
HPLC chromatograms of the extracts of the petals of O. tetraptera. (a) White petals at 0 h. (b) Pink petals at 12 h.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structure of the components of Oenothera petals.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in the color and flavonoid components of the petals of O. tetraptera during senescence. (a) Petal color at each stage, (b) reflection spectra, (c) change in the Cy3G (1) content, and (d) change in the quercitrin (2) content. The data displayed are the means ± SE of three replicates (n = 3). Where no error bars are shown, the SE was too small to determine. Different letters indicate significant differences according to Tukey’s HSD test (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
HPLC chromatograms of the extracts of the petals of O. laciniata. (a) Yellow petals at 0 h. (b) Orange petals at 12 h.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Changes in color and flavonoid components of the petals of O. laciniata during senescence. (a) Petal color at each stage, (b) change in the Cy3G (1) content, and (c) change in the isosalipurposide (3) content. The data shown are the means ± SE of three replicates (n = 3). Where no error bars are shown, the SE was too small to determine. Different letters indicate significant differences according to Tukey’s HSD test (p < 0.05).
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