Abstract:

Breeding new varieties with enhanced bioactive properties is an increasingly important breeding objective, and new varieties having improved biological activity beneficial for human health have a high added value. Many breeding programmes have focused on increasing the content in specific compounds and antioxidant activity; however, it is also important to evaluate the functional activity in biological systems. Therefore, advanced university studies focused on modern plant breeding should provide students with the competence to evaluate the biological activity of selected plant materials and, accordingly, the bioactive potential of new developed varieties and breeding materials. Our Institute offers a Plant Breeding Master, in which subjects such as “Breeding for quality” largely rely on the ability to analyze important traits for the quality of plant produces. Also, the subject “Instrumental techniques” is aimed at the students having a good knowledge of the most important techniques used in breeding programmes. In this paper, we propose the introduction of a high-technology practical session in the mandatory subject “Instrumental Techniques”: the in vitro screening of the cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory effects of different vegetable varieties with different concentrations in bioactive compounds. As a model plant, we propose eggplant varieties differing in the content of chlorogenic acid, which is the most important antioxidant molecule in the eggplant fruit flesh. The design of the practical lesson requires nine hours divided into three sessions, in which the students learn how to harvest, count and culture cells, as well as how to prepare the samples for the analysis, carry out the screening for cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory properties and interpret the results. This practical session allows students to acquire the competence for the use of a quick and reliable system for the evaluation of the bioactive potential of vegetable varieties and contribute to improve their ability to design and perform integral breeding programmes aimed at developing varieties with improved bioactive properties. This practical session can also be applied to other Master studies in the field of Plant Sciences and Biochemistry.

Keywords:

Master studies, cell culture, chlorogenic acid, practical session, plant breeding, competences.