NUTRICEUTICALS OF “TROPEA” RED ONION (ALLIUM CEPA L.) CALABRIA REGION (ITALY) ECOTYPES.

Onions (Allium cepa) are one of the world’s most widely cultivated vegetables, with their culinary and medicinal uses spanning history and the globe. Plants from the genus Allium, particularly onions (A. cepa), have been consumed for their putative nutritional and health benefits for centuries. There is, today, an increasing amount of consumer interest and research focused on various food products that offer a positive health benefit beyond basic nutrition (functional foods), There is evidence that onions, in addition to providing flavour to food, play an important role in protecting against major chronic diseases as well as health problems associated with ageing. Several authors have reported pharmaceutical activity of extracts including anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic activity and epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between diets rich in onion and reduced risk of cancer in human subjects. Equally varied are their health benefits, for they contain a range of phytochemicals with an array of biological effects, including antioxidant scavenging free radicals activity which have been attributed many of the health benefits and antimicrobial activity, long recognized in folk remedies, has also now been scientifically validated. The compounds implicated in providing of a number of health-promoting attributes of onion include flavonoids, particularly the flavonol quercetin, organosulfur compounds such as cysteine sulfoxides (CSO), fructans and saponins. At the present time, the Allium family has over 500 members, each differing in taste, form and color, but close in biochemical, phytochemical and nutraceutical content. All species contain the same compounds but at different levels, the factors that combine to determine the amounts of core nutrients and other phytochemicals include mainly the ecotype/cultivar and manufacturing practices. The aim of the present study was to investigate the nutriceutical properties of Tropea red Onion Calabria region ecotypes in comparison with other red onions. The study also included testing of antioxidant activity and composition in minerals of nutritional interest. The results showed that Tropea Red Onion ecotypes are an excellent source of Ca, K and Mn which contain a higher amount in soluble fiber and polyphenols, the latter significantly correlated to high antioxidant activity. Further studies about fructans and saponins compounds, are still in progress