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Flavan-3-ol and flavonol analysis in healthy and infected parents and progenies of cocoa leaves (Theobroma cacao L.) with Phytophthora megakarya Bras. and Grif

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Abstract

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds involved in defense mechanisms against black pod disease (BPD). Crossing between Forastero and Trinitario-resistant cocoa genotypes usually produce resistant progenies with high contents of bioactive components. This study aims at analyzing flavan-3-ol and flavonol content in the defense against P. megakarya in T. cacao genotypes for their potential selection as markers of partial resistance to BPD. Assessment of necrosis development and biochemical markers of stress (total polyphenols (TPP), total flavonoids (TF), and condensed tannins (CT)) through spectrophotometric methods of 19 genotypes identified eight hybrids that contained higher amounts (P˂0.05) of bioactive components than the better parent T79/467. The necrosis length revealed to be negatively correlated with metabolite concentrations (P < 0.05). Flavan-3-ols and flavonols were analyzed by normal phase (NP) and reverse phase (RP) HPLC–DAD-ESI (-)-MS/MS. Among the best genotypes, flavan-3-ol monomers (( +)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin), derived procyanidins (especially B2 and four of its isomers, C1, and one pentamer), and flavonols (quercetin, quercetin-3-O-arabinoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-rhamnoglucoside, and one isomer) were evidenced both in healthy and infected leaves. Analyzed metabolites increase following infection, but infection does not trigger the synthesis of new compounds. The order of accumulation of biomolecules is as follows: (-)-epicatechin (196%), procyanidin C1 (184%), pentamers (140%), procyanidin B2 (135%), quercetin (80%), quercetin derivatives (57–69%), and ( +)-catechin (57%). Yet their accumulation after infection revealed to be genotype-dependent. This breeding approach is designed to select partial resistant cocoa genotypes against BPD evidenced useful biomarkers in hybrids with high flavonoid content.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the Cameroon Cocoa Development Corporation (SODECAO) for the field used. This research was supported by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) via a grant to Jules Christian Djoko Kouam (Grant no S0020ADM10507L).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Brewery and Food Sciences, LIBST Institute, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Université́ Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, Box L7.05.07, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Jules Christian Djoko Kouam & Sonia Collin

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon

    Jules Christian Djoko Kouam, Jude Manga Ndjaga & Pierre François Djocgoue

  3. Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Higher Teacher Training College, P. O. Box 47, Yaounde, Cameroon

    Jules Christian Djoko Kouam, Jude Manga Ndjaga, Simon Perrez Akoa, Martine Louise Ondobo, Pierre Effa Onomo, Pierre François Djocgoue & Nicolas Niemenak

  4. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon

    Simon Perrez Akoa & Pierre Effa Onomo

Authors
  1. Jules Christian Djoko Kouam
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  2. Jude Manga Ndjaga
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  3. Simon Perrez Akoa
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  4. Martine Louise Ondobo
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  5. Pierre Effa Onomo
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  6. Pierre François Djocgoue
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  7. Nicolas Niemenak
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  8. Sonia Collin
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Jules Christian Djoko Kouam produced the samples, did the lab experiment, and wrote original graft. Jude Manga Ndjaga produced the samples and analyzed the data (software). Simon Perrez Akoa produced the samples. Sonia Collin, Pierre Effa Onomo, and Pierre François Djocgoue supervised this work, research activity planning, and execution. Martine Louise Ondobo and Nicolas Niemenak provided the study materials.

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Correspondence to Pierre Effa Onomo.

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Kouam, J.C.D., Ndjaga, J.M., Akoa, S.P. et al. Flavan-3-ol and flavonol analysis in healthy and infected parents and progenies of cocoa leaves (Theobroma cacao L.) with Phytophthora megakarya Bras. and Grif. Trop. plant pathol. 47, 646–658 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40858-022-00521-0

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