Effects of nitrogen fertilisation and two growing sites on biomass production and lignan content of linseed ( <i>Linum usitatissimum</i> L.): Second year
2007
Zimmermann, R. | Bauermann, U. | Spedding, C.
Mammary and prostatic carcinomas are the most frequently diagnosed in the population of Western Countries. Recent <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> studies have demonstrated the positive effects of mammalian lignans in retarding the development of these carcinomas. Mammalian lignans, such as enterolactone and enterodiol, originate in the human colon from precursors provided through food consumption. Linseed is currently one of the best sources of secoisolariciresinol (seco) and matairesinol (mata), which have been identified as the major precursors of enterolactone and enterodiol. Even though linseed contains outstanding amounts of these substances, knowledge about the ecophysiology of the active agents is very scarce. Therefore, it seemed necessary to investigate the variability in the formation and accumulation of lignans in linseed in order to provide stable, high-quality plant raw material for the food processing industry. The following paper presents the second growing year of a trial series showing the effects of two locations and enhanced N fertilisation at one site on 12 linseed varieties. Six of the varieties were selected from the previous years and six varieties were included for the first time. It could be shown that the variability of both lignans caused by the factor “cultivar” was much greater than either “location” or “fertiliser intensity”. The ranking of the cultivars was very consistent, however, indicating that the genotypic share of the expression was greater than the phenotypic share. The findings confirm the results of the previous year. It was possible to identify superior genetic material based on two growing periods.
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