Anthocyanin Accumulation, Antioxidant Ability and Stability, and a Transcriptional Analysis of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Purple Heading Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis).

Heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) is a significant dietary vegetable for its edible heading leaves in Asia countries. The new purple anthocyanin-rich pure line (11S91) was successfully bred, and the anthocyanins were mainly distributed in 2–3 cell layers beneath the leaf epidermis, whereas siliques and stems accumulated only a cell layer of anthocyanins. The anthocyanins of 11S91 were more stable at pHs below 3.0 and temperatures below 45 °C. The total antioxidant ability was highly positive correlated with the anthocyanin content in 11S91. Thirty-two anthocyanins were separated and identified, and 70% of them were glycosylated and acylated cyanidins. The four major anthocyanins present were cyanidin-3-sophoroside(p-coumaroyl)-5-glucoside(malonyl), cyanidin-3-sophoroside(ferulyl)-5-glucoside(malonyl), cyanidin-3-sophoroside(sinapyl-p-coumaroyl)-5-glucoside(malonyl), and cyanidin-3-sophoroside-(sinapyl-ferulyl)-5-glucoside(malonyl). According to the expression of biosynthetic genes...