Effect of Botrytis cinerea inoculation on the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content in Rubus glaucus benth

Abstract

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a major disease that affects berries cultivation worldwide. This work studied fruits of Rubus glaucus infected at different levels with the fungus Botrytis cinerea by evaluating the total phenol content and the antioxidant capacity using the Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH methods, respectively. The results showed that the total phenolics and the antioxidant capacity of the inoculated fruits increased significantly (p < 0.01) compared with those of the non-inoculated fruits. It was found that these two parameters were associated with the degree of pathogen severity in the fruits, they increased in the first stages of infection and reached maximum levels at 60% of severity; 336.65 mg gallic acid/g sample for total phenols, and 130.08 mmol ascorbic acid/100 g sample for the antioxidant capacity. This study demonstrates that the fruits of Rubus glaucus infected with the fungus Botrytis cinerea show an increase in the total phenolics and the antioxidant capacity compared with healthy fruits. As a matter of fact a positive correlation between 0% and 60% of damage was observed for both parameters according to the diagrammatic scale of severity for this pathosystem.

Keywords:

• Botrytis cinerea
• Rubus glaucus
• phenolic compounds
• phytoalexins
• plant defense response

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the master in chemical engineering Luis Guillermo Rios for his support in editing the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors like to thank people working for the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research, Innovation and Extension of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia and for the project “Development of Scientific and Technological Capacities in Biotechnology Applied to the Health and Agroindustry Sectors in the Department of Risaralda”. This work was supported by the CTeI Fund of the General Royalty System under Grant BPIN 201200010050.