INTRODUCTION OF A PRACTICAL LESSON FOR THE EVALUATION OF CAROTENOIDS IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR MASTER STUDENTS

Master studies provide post-graduate students with an advanced training for a career specialization. In Plant Science studies, practical lessons can become essential during the learning process. In fact, these lessons can be used as a tool for consolidating the knowledge acquired with the theory lessons. Moreover, during the practical lessons, students have the opportunity to apply this knowledge to real situations, and to identify and deal with real problems that can appear. Our Institute offers a Master in Plant Breeding in which the learning process through practical lessons is conceived as an essential complement for theoretical knowledge. The Master provides students with the competence of designing and performing breeding programs addressed to improve adaptation of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as to improve the nutritional and sensorial quality of crops. In plants, there are different families of molecules related to defence, adaptation and/or quality, thus the study of them is of great importance in many breeding programs. An example of compounds with high interest is the family of carotenoids. Carotenoids include a group of compounds with several functions in plants. Some carotenoids are accessory pigments for photosynthesis or precursors of the abscisic acid, offer protection against photooxidative damage, or confer color to flowers, fruits and coloured roots, among other functions. They are also bioactive compounds related to the preservation of human health.

According to this combined interest of carotenoids for:
1) improving health status and
2) improving tolerance of crops, we consider that future professionals in Plant Breeding would improve their skills by performing an appropriate analysis of these compounds. Thus, we propose the introduction of a new practical lesson in the mandatory subject "Instrumental Techniques" addressed to the evaluation of individual carotenoids by high performance liquid cromatography (HPLC).

During the lesson, which will be completed in three sessions, students will perform all the steps for the analysis of carotenoids from different plant material: extraction, preparation of sample for the HPLC analysis, preparation of standards, and analysis of results. At the end of the lesson, students should be able to perform autonomous analyses of carotenoids, and to deal with real problems that can occur during the protocol. In summary, this practical lesson complements the advanced learning process of students and provides them with a specific competence for their future careers. Moreover, guidance during the use of the HPLC should provide students with a secondary specific competence that is the knowledge and application of this technique, which can be transferred to other molecules. Finally, the lesson can be adapted to other Plant related and Food Technology studies.