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Influence of plant age on the composition of Salicornia ramosissima

Jonard, Camille
(2022)

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Jonard_43541700_2022.pdf
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Details

Supervisors
Cybulska, Iwona ; Braem, Lukas
Faculty
Faculté des bioingénieurs
Degree label
Master [120] : bioingénieur en chimie et bioindustries, à finalité spécialisée
Abstract
In the coming years, our agriculture will have to face challenges such as an increase of the food demand, freshwater scarcity and salinization of agricultural lands. There is a growing interest for salt resistant crops. As it is easier to develop the use of plants that can already tolerate high salt concentration, than to genetically modify traditional crops, a growing interest for halophytic plants is observed. Salicornia is one of the most spread halophytes and can tolerate high salt concentration. However, only 20% of the plant are harvested for human food. The remaining 80% are considered as residues. Hence, there is a need of valorization of the residues. This work is a part of the European Aquacombine project that aimed to create synergies between aquaponic farms and Salicornia cultivation. The aim of this work was to analyze the chemical composition of Salicornia ramosissima and its evolution depending on the growth time to identify the best development stage to harvest the crops. Samples were collected from plants aged from 7 to 21 weeks. A successive Soxhlet extraction with water and ethanol was performed to quantify the soluble fraction. The insoluble fraction was characterized for its acid insoluble lignin and polysaccharide content by acidic hydrolysis and HPLC. The protein and flavonoids contents of Salicornia were investigated by the Kjeldahl method and HPTLC, respectively The total extractives and the proteins were decreasing with plant growth. On the contrary, the flavonoids seemed to be more concentrated in older plants. Lignin and structural polysaccharides content also increased with the age of the plant. The structural ash content did not evolve so much with time. All the components investigated offered an increasing yield per hectare owing to an increase of the biomass spatial density. Latter harvest allows a higher recovery than early harvest, no matter the compounds of interest. The best harvest time will vary according to the components and purity level that are targeted.