Variations of elements, pigments, amino acids and secondary metabolites in Vitis vinifera (L.) cv Garganega after 501 biodynamic treatment

Background: There is a need for new approaches in agriculture to improve safety of final products as well as to increase environmental acceptability. In this paper, the biodynamic preparation 501 (horn silica) was sprayed on Vitis vinifera (L.) cv Garganega plants in two vineyards located in Veneto region, North-East Italy. Leaf samples were collected on the day of 501-treatment and 11 days later, and berries were sampled at harvest time. Leaves and berries samples were analysed combining targeted and untargeted measurements related to primary metabolism (pigment, element and amino acid contents) and to secondary metabolism. Chlorophyll content in leaves, and amino acid and element (C, N, S) analysis in berries were combined with untargeted UPLC-QTOF metabolomics.Results: The discriminant compounds related to the 501-treatment were annotated on the basis of accurate MS and fragmentation and were identified as secondary metabolites, namely phenolic constituents belonging to the shiki-mate pathway. The level of most of the identified compounds increased in plants treated with 501 preparation.Conclusions: Results highlight the prominent value of the metabolomic approach to elucidate the role of the 501 applications on grapevine secondary metabolism.