Evaluation of Vitamin C content in fruit and leaves of different strawberry genotypes

Vitamin C plays a critical role in the nutritional evaluation of strawberry fruit, considering that it is one of the main natural sources of this essential micronutrient. Most of the studies are done on fruit but still the variation of leaf Vitamin C content and the correlation with the fruit content is not well known. With the aim of studying this relationship, the Vitamin C content of leaf and fruit of four different strawberry cultivars (Fragaria × ananassa) were measured. The effect of daily changes was also studied by comparing leaf and fruit sampled in the morning and in the afternoon of the same picking days. The sampling was repeated in three days corresponding with the three main pickings of each cultivar. Vitamin C content was analyzed through HPLC-UV analysis. The results confirmed a variation in fruit and leaf Vitamin C content depending to the cultivars. The time of sampling in the day also influenced leaf and fruit content. The correlation studies evidenced almost an independent accumulation trend of this compound in the two plant organs. The results can be used for a better comprehension of the role of genotype and climatic conditions on the physiological pathway of production and accumulation of Vitamin C in strawberry leaves and fruits.