Methyl Jasmonate Versus Nano-Methyl Jasmonate: Effect On The Stilbene Content In Monastrell Variety

Abstract

Stilbenes, a kind of non-flavonoid phenolic compounds, have been reported to be responsible for various beneficial effects. Their biological properties include antibacterial and antifungal effects, as well as cardioprotective, neuroprotective and anticancer actions (Guerrero et al. 2009).Several strategies can be used to increase stilbene content in grapes and one of them could be the use of elicitors such as methyl jasmonate. The use of this elicitor has been proven to be efficient in the production of secondary metabolites which increases the quality of wines, but its use also has some drawbacks such as its low water solubility, high volatility, and its expensive cost (Gil-Muñoz et al. 2021).
This study observes the impact on stiblene composition of must and wine of Monastrell grapes that have been treated with methyl jasmonate and methyl jasmonate n-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles (MeJ-ACP). The first objective of this study was to compare the effect of these treatments to determine if the stilbene composition of the berries and wines increased. The second aim was to determine if the nanoparticle treatments showed similar effects to way treatments so that the ones which are more efficient and sustainable from an agricultural point of view can be selected.
The experiments were conducted in a randomized block design during three consecutive seasons (2019-2021), in which all treatments were applied to three replicates, using 10 vines for each replication. Two foliar treatments were applied to the plants in spray form as a water suspension of MeJ 10 mM (methyl jasmonate and a water suspension of MeJ-ACP 1 mM (Mej-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles) at veraison. Approximately 200 mL of the product was applied to each plant prepared with Tween 80 (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) as the wetting agent (0.1% v/v). Control plants were sprayed with aqueous solution of Tween 80 alone. For all treatments, a second application was performed 7 days after the first. Stilbenes were analyzed according to the methodology shown in Gil-Muñoz et al. (2017).
The results showed how, in general both treatments are able to increase stilbene composition in grapes and wines although depending on the season these results were more evident. As well, the the use of MeJ-ACP showed better results compared to MeJ despite using less quantity (1 mM compared to 10 mM typically) in wines in 2019 and 2021. So, this application form of MeJ could be used as an alternative in order to carry out a more efficient and sustainable agriculture and improve the wine quality.

References

Guerrero, R. F., García-Parrilla, M. C., Puertas, B., & Cantos-Villar, E. (2009). Resverarol, wine and Mediterranean diet, a review. Natural Products Communications, 4, 635–656.
Gil-Muñoz, R., Giménez-Bañón, M.J., Moreno-Olivares, J.D., Paladines-Quezada, D.F., Bleda-Sánchez, J.A., Fernández-Fernández, J.I., Parra-Torrejón, B., Ramirez-Rodriguez, G.B., Delgado-López, J.M.  (2021). Effect of methyl jasmonate doped nanoparticles on nitrogen composition of Monastrell grapes and wines. Biomolecules, 11, 1631.
Gil-Muñoz, R., Fernández-Fernández, J.I,, Crespo-Villegas, O., Garde-Cerdán, T. Elicitors used as a tool to increase stilbenes in grapes and wines. Food Research International, 98, 34-39.