Establishing the Relationship Between Flavonoid Content, Mycorrhization, and Soil Nutritional Content in Different Species of the Genus Passiflora in Colombia

Andrea Ximena Hernández-Martínez; Hair S Lozano-Puentes; Celia Marcela Camacho-Montealegre; Geison M Costa; Lucía A Díaz-Ariza

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c05606

Establishing the Relationship Between Flavonoid Content, Mycorrhization, and Soil Nutritional Content in Different Species of the Genus Passiflora in Colombia

ACS Omega. 2023 Oct 19;8(43):40647-40656. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05606. eCollection 2023 Oct 31.

Authors

Andrea Ximena Hernández-Martínez¹, Hair S Lozano-Puentes^{1

2}, Celia Marcela Camacho-Montealegre², Geison M Costa¹, Lucía A Díaz-Ariza²

Affiliations

¹ Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química, Grupo de Investigación Fitoquímica, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Carrera 7 No 43-82, Bogotá D.C. 110-23, Colombia.
² Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Agricultura Biológica, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Carrera 7 No 43-82, Bogotá D.C. 110-23, Colombia.

Abstract

The genus Passiflora comprises more than 500 species distributed in tropical and semitropical regions. With a great diversity of species, it is estimated that one-third is found in Colombian territory. Besides the food importance, Passiflora species are important sources of biologically active compounds, such as flavonoids. The most important symbiosis between soil fungi and vascular plants related to plant nutrition and tolerance to stress conditions is mycorrhizae. Passiflora species form arbuscular mycorrhizae, with several species of Glomeromycota. This association has been reported to alter the production of secondary metabolites. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the relation between flavonoid content, mycorrhization, and soil nutritional content of Passiflora alata, Passiflora quadrangularis, Passiflora maliformis, and Passiflora ligularis in Colombian crops. The extracts were prepared and analyzed using UPLC/PDA-MS, and total flavonoids were quantified with the method of AlCl₃. Soil characteristics, including nutritional content and percentage of colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, were also determined. All variables were analyzed using Spearman's correlation and principal component analysis. Chromatographic analysis of the extracts allowed us to visualize the different flavonoid compositions of each extract, identifying several C-glycosylflavonoids. In this paper, we report for the first time the presence of luteolin-8-C-rhamnosyl-4'-O-glucoside, apigenin-6-C-arabinosyl-7-O-glucoside, and orientin for P. maliformis. Statistical analysis showed a negative correlation between available phosphorus (ρ = -0.90, p = <0.05) and magnesium (Mg) saturation (ρ = -0.70, p = <0.05) on flavonoid content, whereas the calcium magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio was positively correlated (ρ = 0.70, p = <0.01). There was a nonsignificant correlation between mycorrhization and flavonoid content (ρ = -0.70, p = >0.1). These results contribute to understanding the relationship between flavonoid-mycorrhization-soil nutritional content on Passiflora spp.