ISHS Acta Horticulturae 756: International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants
THE EFFECT OF POPULATION DENSITY ON GROWTH, YIELD, AND FLAVONOLIGNAN CONTENT IN MILK THISTLE (SILYBUM MARIANUM) |
| Authors: | A.R. Belitz , C.E. Sams |
| Keywords: | silymarin, phenolics, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, HPLC, hepatoprotectant |
| Abstract:
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.) is grown throughout the world for its hepatoprotectant flavonolignans, collectively known as silymarin. Silymarin is found primarily in the seeds. Milk thistle was grown in a controlled environment (16 h light at 1200 µmol m-2 s-1 and 23°C and 8 h dark at 16°C) for the determination of plant growth, seed yield, and flavonolignan content under various levels of population density stress. Total seed count (ranging from 0 to 293) and seed yield (from 0.0 to 4.3 g) decreased with the increasing plant density. Furthermore, the count and the yield of malformed or immature seeds also decreased with increasing density. Additionally, the number of blooms per plant, bloom diameter, and mature seed count and yield were negatively correlated to density. However, there was no significant effect of plant density observed on the flavonolignan content. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
