Comparison of the flower colour and the pigment content of Mirabilis jalapa L.

Abstract

In this study a correlation was found between the flower colour and the pigment content of Mirabilis jalapa L. We tried to prove that the heredity of the flower colours of M. jalapa, which are seen at fenotype, is related to plastids as well as the existence of anthocyanin in the vacuole. Moreover the amount of chlorophyll, peroxidase activity and total protein content were determined by means of biochemical methods. As a result it was proved that there is an inverse connection between the amount of chlorophyll and the anthocyanin content, the peroxidase activity, which is an antioxidant enzyme, increases especially in the storage root of the plant known to be chemotherapeutic potential.