An Assessment of the Potential of Vicia faba minor in the Storage of the L-Form of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine.

The uncommon amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) was determined colorimetrically using isonicotinic acid hydrazide (IAH) in the crude extracts obtained from fresh material of Vicia faba minor. DOPA was found to accumulate at concentrations inconsistent with its solubility in water. Other orthodiphenols do not interfere in DOPA determination. The accumulated DOPA was only of the L-form. The DOPA content in the dry material of Vicia faba was significantly lower than that from the corresponding fresh material, suggesting some kind of DOPA oxidation during drying. Subsequent analyses designed to evaluate the actual potential of V. faba minor in the accumulation of DOPA were performed with fresh material. It was observed that the DOPA concentration in the tissues of V. faba minor is reproducible when expressed on a fresh matter weight basis. In young seedlings L-DOPA production is significantly enhanced by light via an increased fresh matter yield. The DOPA content was found to be increased in mature plants grown on media enriched with low concentrations of NaCl (up to 25 mM) that showed a positive effect on their growth. NaCl induced an overproduction of L-DOPA even when growth was restricted by ion excess. On the contrary, the DOPA level dropped in mature plants submitted to water stress. Nodulated plants were found to contain higher content of L-DOPA than the non-nodulated ones grown with NO(3)(-) and NH(4)(+). It is suggested that DOPA hyperproduction by Vicia faba minor might be optimized by growing plants in mild saline conditions and by inoculating them with efficient salt tolerant strains of R. leguminosarum.