Identification of Bioactive Compounds of <i>Asparagus officinalis</i> L.: Permutation Test Allows Differentiation among “Triguero” and Hybrid Green Varieties

• Main Authors: Cecilia Jiménez-Sánchez, Fabián Pedregosa, Isabel Borrás-Linares, Jesús Lozano-Sánchez, Antonio Segura-Carretero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: asparagus; Asparagaceae; HPLC; mass spectrometry; classification
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/6/1640

In this study, we determined the phytochemical profile of the Spanish “triguero” asparagus landrace “verde-morado” (<i>Asparagus officinalis </i>L.), a wild traditional landrace, and the improved “triguero” HT-801, together with two commercial green asparagus varieties. For comparison, we used reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS) followed by a permutation test applied using a resampling methodology valid under a relaxed set of assumptions, such as i.i.d. errors (not necessarily normal) that are exchangeable under the null hypothesis. As a result, we postulate that “triguero” varieties (the improved HT-801 followed by its parent “verde-morado”) have a significantly different phytochemical profile from that of the other two commercial hybrid green varieties. In particular, we found compounds specific to the “triguero” varieties, such as feruloylhexosylhexose isomers, or isorhamnetin-3-<i>O</i>-glucoside, which was found only in the “triguero” variety HT-801. Although studies relating the phytochemical content of “triguero” asparagus varieties to its health-promoting effects are required, this characteristic phytochemical profile can be used for differentiating and revalorizating these asparagus cultivars.