Tocopherols in Cultivated Apple <i>Malus</i> sp. Seeds: Composition, Variability and Specificity

The seeds of 111 <i>Malus</i> sp. different fruit use (dessert and cider apples) cultivars/genotypes developed in 18 countries were analysed to evaluate composition of tocopherol homologues and identify crop-specific profile, including diploid, triploid, and tetraploid apple cultivars with and without scab-resistance to ensure high genetic diversity. The percentage of individual tocopherols was as follows: alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) (38.36%), beta-tocopherol (beta-T) (40.74%), gamma-tocopherol (gamma-T) (10.93%), and delta-tocopherol (delta-T) (9.97%), represented by average measurements of 17.48, 18.56, 4.98, and 4.54 mg/100 g dry weight, respectively. The values of the variation coefficient showed high variability for delta (0.695) and gamma (0.662) homologue content, whereas measurements of alpha-T and beta-T were less variable (coefficient of variation 0.203 and 0.256, respectively). The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) revealed three main cultivar groups characterised by almost equal content of all four tocopherol homologues (Group I), high concentrations of alpha-T and beta-T, but very low content of gamma-T and delta-T (Group II), and relatively high average content of alpha-T and beta-T, but higher gamma-T and delta-T content (Group III). Specific tocopherol homologues showed association with certain valuable traits, such as harvesting time (total content of tocopherols) and resistance to apple scab (alpha-T and total content of tocopherols). This study represents the first large-scale tocopherol homologue (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) screening in apple seeds. The dominant tocopherol homologues in cultivated apple cultivars are alpha-T and beta-T, with the prevalence of alpha-T or beta-T depending on genotype. It is a unique finding due to the rare occurrence of beta-T in the plant world and is considered a unique feature of the species.