Biochemical Diversity of Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus L.) at Various Geographical Locations

Biochemical diversity is a manifestation of geographical area and environmental change. In the present study, 16 ecotypes of yellow flag species were identified and collected through field studies. The ecotypes were identified and then grouped into three populations based on their geographical locations. Using spectrophotometric methods, eight biochemical properties were measured. These were chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, antioxidant capacity, carotenoids, total phenol, flavonoids, and anthocyanin content. The biochemical traits were analyzed in a completely randomized design in three replications using SAS software and principal component analysis via SPSS software. The analysis of variance showed significant differences between the ecotypes in terms of biochemical traits (p 0.05; p 0.01). Photosyntheti-c pigments occurred maximally in ecotype Q, phenol and flavonoids in ecotype K, antioxidant capacity in ecotype O, and anthocyanin content in ecotype L. The populations were divided into three main groups by cluster analysis. Correlation analysis showed significant, positive correlations between chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll (r = 90%), total chlorophyll and carotenoids (r = 67%), as well as phenol content and flavonoid content (r = 56 %). The results indicated significant bioch-emical diversity in the ecotypes.