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Correlation of Rutin Accumulation with 3-O-Glucosyl Transferase and Phenylalanine Ammonia-lyase Activities During the Ripening of Tomato Fruit

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Abstract

In tomato, the predominant flavonoid is quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin). In this study, we aim to investigate the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and the quercetin-3-O-glucosyl transferase (3-GT) reactions in the formation of rutin during tomato fruit ripening. Tomatoes of the Moneymaker variety at different development stages (green, breaker, turning, pink, red, and deep red) were divided into flesh and peel fractions. In each sample, both the content of rutin and the enzymatic activities for PAL and 3-GT were recorded. The highest activities of PAL were recorded in the peel of turning fruit (3,000 μkat/mg fresh weight). In fruit flesh, maximal activity was observed in red fruit (917.3 μkat/mg). For both tissues, PAL activity strongly decreased at the final (deep red) fruit stage. The activity of 3-GT in peel peaked in the turning fruit stage (50.7 pkat/mg), while in flesh maximal activity (33.4 pkat/mg) was observed in green fruit, which rapidly declined at the turning stage. Higher levels of rutin were detected in the tomato peel compared to the flesh part with the highest level being found at the green stage. The relation of PAL and 3-GT activities to rutin content is also evaluated.

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Abbreviations

3-GT:

3-O-glucosyl transferase

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

UDP-Glucose:

Uridine diphosphate glucose

SA:

Specific activity

AU:

Absorbance unit

HPLC:

High performance liquid chromatography

PDA:

Photodiode array

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

MES:

2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid

CAPS:

N-cyclohexyl-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid

DTT:

Dithiothreitol

Tris:

Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the EU 6th Frame FLORA project (2005-FOOD-CT-01730), and EU 7th Frame ATHENA Project (FP7-KBBE-2009-3-245121-ATHENA). EC also acknowledges German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Food Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey

    Esra Capanoglu & Dilek Boyacioglu

  2. Plant Research International, Wageningen UR, BU Bioscience, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Jules Beekwilder & Robert D. Hall

  3. Institute of Plant Genetics & Crop Plant Research, Correnstrasse 3, 06466, Gatersleben, Germany

    Andrea Matros & Hans Peter Mock

  4. Centre for BioSystems Genomics, P.O. Box 98, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Robert D. Hall

  5. Netherlands Metabolomics Centre, University of Leiden, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Robert D. Hall

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  1. Esra Capanoglu
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Correspondence to Esra Capanoglu.

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Capanoglu, E., Beekwilder, J., Matros, A. et al. Correlation of Rutin Accumulation with 3-O-Glucosyl Transferase and Phenylalanine Ammonia-lyase Activities During the Ripening of Tomato Fruit. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 67, 371–376 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-012-0321-1

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