Enhancement of Folate Content and Its Stability Using Food Grade Elicitors in Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

Folate (vitamin B9) content was evaluated in 10
varieties of coriander with the aim of enhancing its concentration
and stability, because of three reasons: 1) coriander is
among a few widely used greens in the world and suits many
cuisines, 2) folate deficiency is prevalent in developing
countries causing anaemia, infant mortality and neural tube
closure defects, and 3) natural folate is preferred due to doubts
about health risks associated with the synthetic form. In C.
sativum, the highest folate content of 1,577 μg/100 g DW was
found in var. GS4 Multicut foliage of mature plants (marketable
stage) with an insignificantly higher content (1,599.74 μg/
100 g DW) at flowering, which is a stage not preferred in
markets. In callus cultures treated with plant growth regulators
(GRs) (6-benzylaminopurine, kinetin and abscisic acid) substantial
increase in folate occurred after 6 h, whereas elicitors
(methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid) caused rapid 2-fold
increase of folate, particularly in response to salicylic acid.
Based on these observations, foliar applications were done
for in vivo plants, where salicylic acid (250 μM, 24 h) also
enhanced folate level by 2-folds (3,112.33 μg/100 g DW),
although the content varied with diurnal rhythms. Stability of
folates in treated coriander foliage was 10 % higher than in
untreated foliagewhen stored at 25 °C and 4 °C. This study has
established for the first time that coriander foliage is rich in
folates, which can be doubled by elicitation and impart 10 %
more stability than control during processing and storage.