In the present study, we investigated the content and profile of polyphenols (PPH), ascorbic acid (AA), the Folin–Ciocalteu index (FCI), and antioxidant activity (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and peroxyl radical (ROO)) variation during three different plant growth stages (sprouts, microgreens and baby leaves) of two broccoli types, the traditional Sicilian sprouting broccoli landrace (‘Broccolo Nero’) and the broccoli standard (‘Cavolo broccolo Ramoso Calabrese’), and the standard commercial cultivar of kale (‘Cavolo Lacinato Nero di Toscana’). All biomasses collected were freeze-dried for PPH, AA, FCI, DPPH and ROO analysis. The highest polyphenol content was observed for ‘Broccolo Nero’ (BN) and ‘Cavolo Broccolo Ramoso Calabrese’ (CR), and generally sprouts showed significantly higher values compared to the microgreens and the baby leaves. The AA, FCI, DDPH and ROO significantly vary with regards to the cultivar and the plant growth stage, showing interaction between the two experimental factors analyzed. The interaction detected showed higher values for the antioxidant traits of the proposed novel food, especially for the two broccoli cultivars in the sprout growth stage in comparison to the microgreens and baby leaves. Our results suggest that the antioxidant activity is partially dependent on kaempferol and apigenin. The PPH compounds showed the highest values of kaempferol and apigenin for ‘Broccolo nero’, whereas for the other two cultivars studied, only kaempferol was the main compound represented. The data acquired are of interest for increasing the healthy traits of the novel food proposed showing the contribution offered by the neglected LRs until now underutilized and at risk of extinction. The germplasm conserved in several world genebanks could support and diversify the organic vegetable items, providing us with added-value products for organic food supply chains.

Drought is one of the major challenges of global crop production, and its severity is increasing because of climate change. This abiotic stress is an important target for Brassica species, which are generally grown in arid and semi-arid climates. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of water deficit on a set of accessions belonging to the Brassica core collection of the EU H2020 BRESOV project, represented by Brassica oleracea L. crops and Brassica oleracea complex species (n = 9). In particular, the variation in the amount and profile of the glucosinolates (GLSs) compounds was analyzed on the root and the leaf tissues. The plant morphometric traits and GLSs amount and profile were detected for the plants grown in cold greenhouse in Catania (Sicily) during the autumn–winter season for ten weeks. The results showed a wide qualitative and quantitative variation among the Brassica accessions. The GLSs profile varied qualitatively and quantitively among both genotypes and portions of the plants (hypogenous-root and epigeous-leaf). Plants grown under drought stress, for the last two weeks of the growing cycle under consideration, showed a higher amount of GLS in their leaves (190.1 ± 8.9 µmol. g^{−1 d.w.}) compared to their roots (17.3 ± 1.9 µmol. g^{−1 d.w.}). Under water stress conditions, the highest increase in the glucosinolate amount was detected in broccoli (the accession BR1) with 85.4% and in cauliflower (the accession CV1) with 72.8% in the roots and leaves, respectively. Positive correlations were found between the major leaf and root GLSs identified. The selection of chemotypes allows for an important time reduction during the breeding programs after crossing accessions with the specific profiles of glucosinolates.

Some new foods (sprouts, microgreens and baby leaf) of the brassica genus are appreciated for their nutritional and nutraceutical values. The aim of this experimental trial was to improve the nutraceutical traits of these foods by evaluating the effects of the climatic condition, genotype, and plant growth stage on the development of greater quality in relation to these new foods. The morphometric and glucosinolates (GLSs) traits of three traditional Italian cultivars of Brassica oleracea crops, such as broccoli (B. oleracea var. italica), namely the traditional Sicilian landrace ‘Broccolo Nero’ (BN) and the commercial ‘Cavolo Broccolo Ramoso Calabrese’ (CR), as well as the commercial kale cultivar ‘Cavolo Laciniato Nero di Toscana’ (CL) (B. oleracea var. acephala DC.), were evaluated in an unheated greenhouse in Catania during the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Plant growth was studied at different phenological stages—from seeds to sprouts, microgreens, and baby leaves—over two growing cycles, one in autumn–winter and the other in spring–summer. ‘Broccolo Nero’ (BN) broccoli showed more rapid growth and biomass production than the other two cultivars evaluated (i.e., weight, hypocotyl length, and leaf width). The GLS profile varied significantly (p < 0.05), in relation both to plant’s growth stage and to genotype. The highest amount of glucoraphanin was detected for BN microgreens and baby leaves, about 8 µmol g⁻¹ d.w., whereas glucobrassicin and its related derivatives were about 14 µmol g⁻¹ d.w. in microgreens and baby leaves of CL and about 15 µmol g⁻¹ d.w. and 10 µmol g⁻¹ d.w. for glucoraphanin in CR, respectively. These new foods can also be produced at home with simple and cheap equipment

This study aims to evaluate the bio-morphological and biochemical variability of three Tunisian wild populations and one growing cultivar of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.). The studied varieties should be easily distinguished by the color and the habitus of the plant as mentioned in literature, but the various analyses have shown a strong morphological heterogeneity within and among the wild and cultivated accessions as presented by the variance analysis test (ANOVA) and the PCA (Principal component analysis). We found high intrapopulation variability through the wild populations that make it hard to differentiate them only on the base of morphology. We analyzed the biochemical profile of those populations based on the analysis of freeze-dried samples of leaves and stems. We identified and quantified twelve different phenolic compounds by the HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) technique. Six phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified in the leaves and stems of the wild and cultivated populations. Sinapic acid and myricetin are the majors identified compounds through our samples. The results were significantly different in relation to the plant organs and to the geographic origin for most of the compounds. The obtained results highlighted the importance of Portulaca as a medicinal plant by showing its richness in phenols and flavonoids that have multi-medicinal effects besides their antioxidant power.

A comparative study for evaluating Italian and Spanish accessions of Brassica rapa var. rapa L., including turnip greens and turnip tops, was carried out at different locations with a view to determine the effect of earliness on crop production, antioxidant activity, glucosinolates amount, and profile (GLSs) and total phenolics content. The accessions evaluated were represented by two turnip top local varieties (one Italian variety and a Galician one), four new synthetic varieties established by Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), and three commercial varieties widely used by growers in Galicia and in Italy. The results showed a great variability regarding flowering time, fresh and dry weight of the leaves and flower buds, and the branch number per plant. The highest turnip greens production was found in two synthetic varieties (“SIN07” and “SIN01”) for both countries. Local varieties “BRS550” and “CM39” were also suitable for turnip greens production in Spain and Italy, respectively. For turnip tops, the highest production was found for “SIN07” in Spain, for “CM39” in Italy and for “BRS550” in both countries. We found a high diversity in the total and individual glucosinolate, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity among genotypes, geographical origins, and the different parts of the plant (leaf and flower). Varieties “SIN01” and “SIN07” showed the highest values in total GLSs, total aliphatic and gluconapin contents in turnip greens followed by the two commercial varieties. For turnip tops, the highest values in gluconapin, aliphatic, and total GLSs contents were found in “SIN01” and “BRS550”. Even though different varieties stand out over the rest depending on the location, “SIN01”, “SIN07”, “CM39”, and “BRS550” could be recommended for turnip greens production because of its high antioxidant activity. The study showed that the latest varieties are more productive and show higher bioactive compounds than the earlier ones and that it is possible to improve genotypes for different growing cycles. Therefore, these varieties could be proposed for further breeding programs for B. rapa production.

The plant heritage of the Mediterranean basin, with its wide biodiversity, offers the best conditions to pursue the objectives of the EU Green Deal, and among it, we pointed our attention to the Brassica oleracea crops, thanks to the high number of landraces and of its wild relative species widespread both in agro and ecosystems. In the framework of the European project BRESOV H2020 “Breeding for Resilient, Efficient and Sustainable Organic Vegetable Production”, we evaluated different organic growing conditions and plant characteristics to pursue a good yield and high quality of organic seed under different nutrition protocols. We took in attention the two landraces of sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenk) Sparaceddu and Cavolo Riccio di Messina, which well express the traditional trait of broccoli Sicilian biodiversity that is often unfortunately underestimated. The results showed that the new tools for organic plant nutrition implement the plant characteristics and the related seed yield also by using a lower level of inputs, achieving economically sustainable production by the use of the nutrition protocols evaluated. There is, therefore, a strong need to affirm the concept of “minimum dose” in order to obtain a satisfactory result in terms of production and quality. The research also focused on the characteristics of brassicas crops, highlighting the main factors that render the use of biodiversity possible and profitable.