Variation of Catechin, epicatechin and their enantiomers concentrations before and after wheat cultivar-Puccinia triticina infection

Three wheat cultivars (Boolani, Roushan and Fornota) were inoculated with Puccinia triticina strain 140 and placed in greenhouse and concentrations of catechin, epicatechin and their enantiomers were monitored in three steps; healthy leaves before and after exposed and also diseased leaves after exposed. The concentration of catechin and epicatechin in infected plant ranged from 4.43 to 11.00 and 1.65 to 3.68 times higher than those in non-infected plant, respectively. Also, the healthy leaves of infected plants had more amounts of catechin and epicatechin than diseased leaves. Study of chiral separations by cellulose column, indicated that both enantiomers of catechin were found in healthy leaves of non-infected plants. However, in the leaves of wheat which were exposed to P. triticina, the concentration of (+) catechin increased while (−)-catechin disappeared in healthy and diseased leaves of infected plants. Furthermore, only (−)-epicatechin was found in all the samples. So, infection by pathogen caused a change in the biosynthesis and accumulation of catechin and also a change in the enantiomeric ration of catechin enantiomers in the leaves.