The genepi Artemisia species. Ethnopharmacology, cultivation, phytochemistry, and bioactivity

Wormwoods (Artemisia species) from the génépi group are, along with Edelweiss, iconic plants of the Alpine region and true symbols of inaccessibility because of their rarity and their habitat, largely limited tomoraines of glaciers and rock crevices. Infusions and liqueurs prepared from génépis have always enjoyed a panacea status in folk medicine, especially as thermogenic agents and remedies for fatigue, dyspepsia, and airway infections. In thewake of the successful cultivation ofwhite génépi (Artemisia umbelliformis Lam.) and the expansion of its supply chain, modern studies have evidenced the occurrence of unique constituents, whose chemistry, biological profile, and sensory properties are reviewed along with the ethnopharmacology, botany, cultivation and conservation strategies of their plant sources

Agronomical and phytochemical evaluation of Stevia rebaudiana genotypes

The agronomical potential and the phytochemical variability of 18 genotypes of the Paraguayan plant Stevia rebaudiana have been investigated in Switzerland in order identify the best genotype for local cultivation. Over a two years period, yields in dry leaves ranged from 10 to 170 g m-2, with a percentage of leaves ranging from 53 to 75 %. HPLC analyses showed a notable variability in phytochemical composition, with stevioside content ranging from 0.3 to 7.9 % w/w and rebaudioside A from 0.3 to 6.5 % w/w. Cultivation of S. rebaudiana in Switzerland is feasible. With a density of 10 plants per m2, the potential yields of dry matter are approximately 1-2 t ha-1. The most productive genotypes (Pharmasaat, Hem Zaden, Stepa and Mediplant 3 and 11) will be submitted to the industry for organoleptic evaluation

Non volatile constituents of the vermouth ingredient Artemisia vallesiaca

The Alpine wormwood Artemisia vallesiaca All. was considered the most valuable ingredient of vermouth, a celebrated aromatized wine. A. vallesiaca has a very limited geographical distribution, and the booming market of vermouth decimated its natural population, resulting in the eventual replacement of this rare species with more common and less expensive wormwoods like A. absinthium L.. Over the past years, attempts to revive the original recipe(s) of vermouth have fostered the establishment of cultivations of A. vallesiaca in pre-montane settings. In order to assist these projects, the phytochemical profile of cultivated plants and of several native populations of A. vallesiaca from the Swiss Valais were comparatively evaluated, focusing on sesquiterpene lactones and on lipophilic flavonoids, the hallmark constituents of Artemisia species. Remarkably, no significant difference was detected between the samples, despite the different origins. The lipophilic flavonoids of A. vallesiaca were similar to those of related species used in the production of vermouth, but the presence of C-9 oxygenated 11β-methyl germacranolides and eudesmanolides (herbolides) made its sesquiterpene lactone profile peculiar. In addition to known compounds, two novel germacranolides were also characterized (herbolides J and K), and the major sesquiterpene lactone from the plant, the bitter germacranolide herbolide D (4), was detected and quantified by 1H NMR in a bitter liqueur aromatized with A. vallesiaca. Taken together, these observations qualify herbolides as marker to identify A. vallesiaca in aromatized alcohol matrixes

Bioactive compound profile and antioxidant activity of fruits from six goji cultivars cultivated in Switzerland

Goji berries, traditionally used in Chinese medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in the Western world. The efforts are made to establish their cultivation in Europe. Goji berries might derive from two closely related species: Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, however, plant species is rarely stated by commercial suppliers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity and the bioactive compounds profile of fruits from six goji berries cultivars cultivated in Switzerland and to provide their genetic characterisation. Goji fruits were cultivated at the experimental field of the Agroscope Research Center in Wallis, Switzerland. The genetic characterization was carried out by amplifying and sequencing two nuclear genes and one chloroplastic gene. The comparison with L. barbarum and L. chinense obtained from the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of Geneva (CBGG) was made. The profile of carotenoids and polyphenols was analysed using an HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant capacity was determined by ORAC and TEAC assays. DNA sequencing and phylogenetics confirmed that all the cultivars belonged to the Lycium genus. ‘Tibet’, ‘Red Life’, ‘Sweet Lifeberry’, ‘Big Lifeberry’ seemed to be closely related to a L. barbarum, whereas ‘Number One’ segregated closer to L. chinense. The individual Saxon, appeared genetically different from all other cultivars and the L. barbarum and L. chinense individuals from CBGG. Zeaxanthin esters were the predominant carotenoid in all six cultivars. ’Number One’ had the highest content of phenolic compounds such as rutin and ferulic, chlorogenic, caffeic and p-coumaric acid. The study confirmed the importance of combining the quantification of bioactive compounds with genetic characterisation in the analysis of goji species. The dissimilarity of ‘Number One’ and Saxon from four remaining cultivars investigated in this study was evident from the DNA sequencing and Principal Component Analysis of chemical results

Genetic characterization and relationships of traditional grape cultivars from Transcaucasia and Anatolia

We present here the first large-scale genetic characterization of grape cultivars from Transcau-casia and Anatolia. These regions where wild grapes still grow in nature have been cultivating wine and table grapes for thousands of years and are considered the cradles of viticulture. Using 12 nuclear microsatellite markers, we genotyped 116 accessions of traditional grape cul-tivars from Armenia, Georgia and Turkey and we detected 17 identical genotypes and six homonymy cases, mainly within each national germplasm. Neighbour-joining analysis of gen-etic distance showed that each germplasm could have multiple origins and although they are now separated, they might have some common ancestors. In addition, four varieties from Wes-tern Europe included as outgroups turned out to be more related to Georgian cultivars than other germplasms, suggesting a possible ancient origin in Georgia. This work represents a first step towards germplasm management of this rich ampelographic heritage