ALLICIN DIVERSITY IN SOME WILD POPULATION OF SIX ALLIUM SPECIES FROM IRAN
MAHBOOBEH ZARE MEHRJERDI 1*, MAHDI MORIDI FARIMANI 2, JALAL REZAEI 1, HASSAN MASTALI 1
1Department of Horticulture, Aburaihan Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2Department of Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants and Drug Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
*corresponding author: mzarem@ut.ac.ir

Download Full Article

Abstract:
Allium is a large genus of flowering plants with potential medicinal values. In this study, the potential use of wild Allium species as medicinal plants was evaluated by determining the allicin diversity in nine Allium populations from six species of subgenus Melanocrommyum sect., Acanthoprason and Asteroprason. The assessments involved HPLC analysis. In addition, the fresh weight of bulbs and the allicin yield of each population were examined. The results showed that allicin ranged from 4.82% to 17.55% in the bulbs of different populations. Such amounts of allicin are higher than the British pharmacopoeia level. The average of bulb fresh weight and allicin yield varied from 2.08 g to 4.85 g and from 0.20 g to 0.81 g, respectively. Cluster analysis by the UPGMA method led to the classification of the nine wild populations of Allium into three major clusters. The study of diversity here provides a basis for future utilization of genetic resources in these populations and for their breeding.

Top