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This study aims to determine the appropriate irradiation dose for induction of somaclonal variation in mass of unorganized parenchyma cells derived from sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) tissues.

To investigate the feasibility of UV-B irradiation (312 nm), seeds and callus of sainfoin were exposed to five different intensities (20-100 per cent) for evaluating the effectiveness of phytochemical constituents and cellular behaviour.

Although percentage of seed viability reduced in 20 per cent intensity of UV-B irradiation compared with control seeds, the germination speed significantly enhanced from 3.58 to 5.42. The spectrophotometer analysis confirmed that concentrations of chlorophyll (a and b) decreased after UV-B exposure as compared with control callus. Also, carotenoid content showed significant differences among treated calli. Flavonoid and phenolic contents were observed to gradually increase when the non-irradiated callus subjected to 40 and 60 per cent intensities of UV-B irradiation, respectively. Observation on cellular behaviour such as determination of nuclear and cell areas, mitotic index and chromosomal aberrations were also detected to change in different intensities of UV-B irradiation. Fragmented and aneuploidy aberrations were only observed in exposed cells with more than 40 per cent intensity of UV-B irradiation.

In reality, radiocytological evaluation was proven to be essential in deducing the effectiveness of UV-B irradiation to induce somaclonal variation in callus tissue of sainfoin.

The aim of the present study is to gain correlation between saffron colours, their antioxidant capacity and the constituents of the secondary metabolites of three different saffron samples commonly available in the Malaysian market.

In this study, saffron samples imported from Iran, Spain and Kashmir were extracted using methanol and the total antioxidant capacity were analysed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and electrospray ionization coupled with mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) were then used to identify secondary metabolites present in the saffron crude extracts. The colour variation of the saffron extract was expressed by the CIELAB colorimeter in terms of lightness (L*), greenness (a*), yellowness (b*), chroma (C) and hue angle (H°). Principle component analysis (PCA) was carried out to analyse the similarities and correlation between variables.

This study reveals that antioxidant has a positive correlation with flavanols, especially quercetin and kaempferol. In addition, colour appearance is not necessarily an indicator for the antioxidant level.

The major classes of polyphenolics identified in saffron methanolic crude extract are flavonoids and phenolic acids. Further improvements in the extraction and identification methods may find other compounds that could attribute to the visual factors and antioxidant capacity as a complement for this preliminary study.

This analysis provides comparison basis and valuable information for saffron consumers in Malaysia depending on the consumers’ purpose of whether to have a certain desired colour or health benefits.

A comparative study about saffron product available in Malaysian market is original. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt of evaluation on a saffron product that has been carried out in Malaysia.