Author(s)

Laura D’Evoli, Massimo Lucarini, José Sanchez del Pulgar, Altero Aguzzi, Paolo Gabrielli, Elena Azzini, Ginevra Lombardi-Boccia^*

CREA Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy.

The study provides original data on the compositional profile (macronutrients, dietary fiber, mineral and trace elements, bioactive molecules) of an Italian typical plant foods, Treviso Red Cichory, studying the two cultivars (Early, Late) grown following two different traditional cultivation systems. For two consecutive years plants from three growing areas, were studied. Major, significant differences, between Early and Late cultivars, were observed in minerals (Ca, Mg, P), trace elements (Fe, Zn) and bioactive molecules content. The Late cv. was found the richest in minerals and trace elements content than the Early cv., but for Ca. Treviso Red Cichory was found a valuable source of bioactive molecules such as ascorbic acid, anthocyanins and total polyphenols. The Early cv. showed a significantly higher (p < 0.05) ascorbic acid and total anthocyanins content (8.63 and 92.15 mg/100g, respectively) than the Late cv. (6.15 and 24.38 mg/100g, respectively), by contrast total polyphenols content was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the Late cv. A marked variability in bioactive molecules content among the growing areas was found only for the Late cv. The observed differences between the Early and Late cultivars could be strictly related to the traditional growing systems applied during plant’s growth.

Treviso Red Cichory, Ascorbic Acid, Anthocyanins, Polyphenols, Minerals, Dietary Fiber

D’Evoli, L. , Lucarini, M. , Pulgar, J. , Aguzzi, A. , Gabrielli, P. , Azzini, E. and Lombardi-Boccia, G. (2017) Nutrients and Bioactive Molecules of the Early and Late Cultivars of the Treviso Red Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). Food and Nutrition Sciences, 8, 457-464. doi: 10.4236/fns.2017.85031.