DOI: 10.34894/wldue0
title: Exploring vitamin C, riboflavin and folate variation in cucumber genotypes at two different growth stages under both greenhouse conditions and high wire system

description: The content of Vitamin C, riboflavin, and folate in cucumbers may vary among different genotypes, even when they are cultivated under similar environmental conditions and pruning techniques. Additionally, the developmental stage of the plant can influence the synthesis of these vitamins, as plant aging can impact the production of these metabolites. To investigate the influence of genotype and growth stage on vitamin production, an experiment was conducted under both greenhouse and high wire conditions. Further details regarding the analysis type and replication numbers are provided in the notes section.
description: The genetic material of 4 varieties considered in this experiment has not yet been commercialized and therefore, the variety name has been anonymized for confidentiality reasons. In the file, the column 'variety' contain 8 different cucumber varieties, represented by a letter and a number. Those varieties that are genetically closer received the same letter and different number. 
During this experiment, the measurements were carried out on the week 50 and 106 after sowing. Then, the vitamins analyzed appear in the document as the experiment one, where measurements were taken on the week 50, and second experiment, where the measurements were taken during the week 106 after sowing. The vitamins data in columns are shown as an average and its respect standard deviation for both days of sampling. As well, the data averaged of both days of sampling is included with with its standard deviation. Different units were also considered. 
Vitamin C is represented as Vit C; Riboflavin is represented as Vit B2; folate is represented as Vit B9, although this last one was only measured in the second experiment.
The values for each variety correspond with the average of 3 cucumbers sampled at the same ripening stage and obtained from 3 independent plants. 

For the determination of ascorbic acid (n = 3; mg/kg), 2 g of unfrozen and homogenized sample was added to 8 mL of buffer solution (5 % Meta-phosphoric acid, 0.05 % EDTA and 5 mM TCEP) and ultrasonicated for 1 min. The samples were then shaken for 5 min at 1500 rpm and filtered into a HPLC vial using a 0.45 µm PES filter. HPLC was performed using an Atlantis T3 3 µm column (Waters Corporation, 
Milford, Massachusetts, USA) at 20 °C for 15 min (injection volume of 20 µL at flow rate of 1.5 mL min-1; 0.05 % formic acid mobile phase; UV detection at 254 nm). 

For the determination of riboflavin (n = 3; mg/kg), 2 g of unfrozen and homogenized sample was added to 2 mL of extraction solvent (1:1 MilliQ and Methanol HPLC) and ultrasonicated for 1 min. The samples were then shaken for 5 min at 1500 rpm and filtered into a HPLC vial using a 0.45 µm PES filter. HPLC was performed using a Phenomenex Luna C18 5 µm column (Phenomenex Inc., Torrance, California, USA) at 20 °C for 28 min (injection volume of 20 µL at flow rate of 1 mL min-1; mobile phase A – 0.085 % Phosphoric acid, mobile phase B – Acetonitrile HPLC grade; UV detection at 267 nm).

For the determination of folate (n = 1; mcg/kg) the quantitation was performed following the standard protocol AOAC 2013.13:2013. Due to the volume of sample required for that protocol, the 3 samples per variety had to be pulled into one sample.