Methods for zingiberene quantification in tomato seeking indirect selection of arthropod-pest-resistant plants

Abstract

Two quantification methodologies of zingiberene were tested to establish a criterion for indirect selection of tomato plants resistant to arthropod pests. The tomato plants evaluated were: Lycopersicon esculentum ‘TOM-556’' (absence or a low zingiberene content), L. hirsutum var. hirsutum ‘PI-127826’ (high zingiberene content),- F₁ TOM-556 x PI-127826, L. hirsutum var. glabratum ‘PI-134417’, L. esculentum ‘TOM-600’ (the last two with high contents of 2 - tridecanone), and Zingiber officinalis ‘ginger’ (species with high zingiberene content). The extraction of zingiberene was made in 4.21 cm² of tomato plant leaflets and 0.15g of Z. officinalis root, in 2mL of hexane stirred for 40 seconds and quantified in spectrophotometer and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), at 270 nm. These methodologies presented a positive correlation (r=0.85) indicating a good precision of quantification by spectrophotometer. A fast, cheap and nondestructive methodology for zingiberene quantification in tomato plants was established