Identification and Quantification of Anthocyanins in Various Organs of Potato Varieties (Solanum tuberosum L.) as Potential Visual Selection Markers During Breeding

Abstract

Phenolic compounds, which are a large group of plant pigments, are recognized as important antioxidants. The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), particularly the pigmented varieties, could be a source of natural anthocyanins for producing dietary foods. In this study, we analyzed forty potato specimens from our germplasm collection and breeding nurseries using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and second-order mass spectrometry to identify anthocyanins. We found seven main anthocyanins in potato tubers: delphinidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-rhamnosyl-5-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rhamnosyl-5-glucoside, and pelargonidin-3-glucoside. Two anthocyanins were found in potato inflorescences: peonidin-3-coumaroyl glucoside and cyanidin-3-coumaroyl glucoside. On average, varieties from the group with red-purple inflorescences contained 187.6 mg/kg of anthocyanins. Genotypes with white corollas had an anthocyanin content below 0.5 mg/kg or between 1.3 and 3.6 mg/kg. Two potato varieties, Vasilek (605.2 mg/kg) and Fioletovyi (501.1 mg/kg), with blue-purple corollas, had the highest total anthocyanin content. Studying the anthocyanin profile of leaves allowed us to identify eleven anthocyanins. The highest anthocyanin content (331.3 mg/kg) was found in varieties with purple or blue-purple tubers, while the lowest content (an average of 15.1 mg/kg) was found in varieties with yellow or cream tubers. Genotypes with purple and blue-purple tuber skin had an average anthocyanin content of 190.7 mg/kg. The group with yellow and cream tubers had an insignificant anthocyanin content (1.2 mg/kg). Varieties from the group with pink tubers had an average anthocyanin content of 43.2 mg/kg. Thus, this study identified diagnostic traits that could be used to assess the morphological characteristics of potato genotypes.

Keywords: HPLC-MS; Morphological traits; Solanum tuberosum L.; anthocyanin profiling; pigmented potato; potato breeding.

Figure 1

Potato varieties from the groups with a different tuber skin color: (a) Sante, st; (b) Ol’skii; (c) Manifest; and (d) Chernyi prints. (e,f) Differences in the tuber flesh color among the studied potato specimens: Chernyi prints (e); Tsyganka Lora (f); Vasilek (g); Pri-15-12-14 (h); Yantar’, st (i); Sante, st (j); and Ol’skii (k).

Figure 2

Variation of the corolla color among the studied potato specimens: (a) Sarma (white); (b) Kazachok, st (white); (c) Krepysh (pale red-purple with white streaks); (d) Pamyati Rogacheva (pale red-purple); (e) Yubilyar (red-purple); (f) Pamyati Rogacheva (pale red-purple); (g) Pri-12-35-4 (blue-purple); (h) Nadezhda (blue-purple with white streaks); (i) Chernyi prints (red-purple with white streaks).

Figure 3

(a) Structural formula of anthocyanins (Solominova L.V., Onina S.A., Kozlova G.G. Extraction and study anthocyanins plant material. Bulletin of Science and Practice. 2019. No. 5(4). Pp. 69-75. DOI: 10.33619/2414-2948/41/07). (b) Anthocyanins and their respective R groups.

Figure 4

(a) Heatmap of the content of anthocyanins in the inflorescences of the studied potato varieties over 2018–2021 (n = 3, p < 0.05, M±t0,05½SEM; the wavelength was 510 nm, and this was compared to the spectra of the standards). (b) Profiles of the elution of the anthocyanins isolated from the inflorescence of variety Fioletovyi. (c) Heatmap of the content of anthocyanins in the leaves of the studied potato varieties. The profiles of the elution of the anthocyanins isolated from the leaves of the varieties (d) Chernyi prints, (e) Vasilek, and (f) Fioletovyi. WC (white corolla), RPC (red-purple corolla), BPC (blue-purple corolla), YCTS (yellow and cream tuber skin), YP-PRS (yellow tuber skin with pink spots, and pink and red tuber skin), and P-BPS (purple and blue-purple tuber skin).

Figure 5

(a) Content of anthocyanins in the tubers of the studied potato varieties depending on skin color over 2018–2021 (n = 3, p < 0.05, M ± t0.05½SEM; the wavelength was 510 nm, and this was compared to the spectra of the standards). The profiles of the elution of the anthocyanins isolated from the tubers of the studied potato varieties (b) sort Tsyganka Lora, (c) Kuznechanka, and (d) Chernyi prints. YCTS (yellow and cream tuber skin), YP-PRS (yellow tuber skin with pink spots, and pink and red tuber skin), and P-BPS (purple and blue-purple tuber skin).

Figure 6

Profile of the elution of the anthocyanins isolated from the tuber skin (a) and flesh (b) of hybrid Pri-14-52-2.