On Jenuary 23^th, the scientific journal  CABI Agriculture and Bioscience published an article written by Gresheen Garcia, Donata Arena, Hajer Ben Ammar, Victor Manuel Rodriguez, Pablo Velasco, and Ferdinando Branca entitled “Enhancing nutraceutical traits in Brassica oleracea L. for functional food production”

Abstract

Background: The Brassica oleracea complex species (n = 9) represent an important source of genetic diversity for developing new high nutraceutical foods, well known as superfood, as demonstrated by the establishment of the super broccoli F1 hybrid Beneforte®, widely requested in the UK. Within the EU Horizon project COUSIN (Crop wild relatives utilization and conservation for sustainable agriculture, GA n. 101135314), we grew five crop wild relatives (CWRs), one commercial broccoli, one commercial cauliflower, two Sicilian landraces, thirteen composite cross populations (CCPs), and seven hybrids (UNICTCROSS, F1) in order to identify elite genotypes combining high bioactive compound content with favorable agronomic behaviors. Methods: The trial was conducted under certified organic conditions in Sicily during the 2023–2024 growing season, adopting a completely randomized design with three replicates. Morphological traits, such as plant height, stem width, and leaf number, were assessed following IBPGR Brassica descriptors. Biochemical characterization included glucosinolates profile by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and antioxidant capacity by ABTS and FRAP assays were detected. Results: Substantial morphological variation was observed, with plant height ranging from 9.80 to 65.33 cm and leaf number from 7.67 to 29.11 cm. Total glucosinolate content varied from 0.17 to 80.6 μmol/g DW, with hybrid F₁_6 exhibiting the highest value. F₁ hybrids and selected CCPs showed high glucoraphanin content (up to 54.29%), while CWRs displayed high levels of glucoiberin, glucobrassicanapin, and sinigrin. Indolic glucosinolates predominated in specific CWRs and CCPs. Antioxidant capacity ranged from 8.47 to 26.45 μmol TE/g for ABTS and exceeded 40 μmol TE/g for FRAP. Conclusions: The data acquired showed an extensive genetic diversity among the Brassica oleracea L., identifying promising F₁ hybrids and CCPs for their high glucosinolate content. These findings support the strategic use of underexploited germplasm for breeding programs targeting improved nutritional quality and agricultural sustainability.

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