Variability in phenolic acid composition and content in CIMMYT durum wheat cultivars and Mexican landraces

The genetic variation for phenolic acid concentration was extensively studied in bread and durum wheat collections in Europe and in some areas of the Mediterranean Region, but a comprehensive survey in Mexican wheat materials was lacking. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the variability for individual and total phenolic acids of six durum wheat varieties developed at CIMMYT. Environmental effects, including full and reduced irrigation, mild and severe heat stress were considered to estimate potential association between phenolic acid content and different level of water-deficit and heat stress conditions. The principal component analysis of the whole dataset for the cultivars showed that different environmental conditions had a clear impact on genotypes clustering. A different response to drought and heat stress was observed among the cultivars, though a general increase of phenolic acids was observed in some varieties. A collection of Mexican durum wheat landraces available at CIMMYT was also characterized for the phenolic acid profile. A large variation for total phenolic acid content was observed among the landraces with a mean value of about 600 ?g/g d.m. Results could help durum wheat breeding for phenolic acid content to improve the antioxidant properties of durum products.