Lettuce is a popular leafy vegetable that can play an important role in human nutrition and diets with regular consumption. Lettuce cultivars can vary considerably in their postharvest nutritional composition. It is critically important to determine which lettuce cultivars have the highest nutritional quality to allow growers to select those that are best for their market. The objectives of this experiment were twofold, to determine differences in the phytonutrient content of two butterhead lettuce cultivars, ‘Nancy’ (green butterhead) and ‘Skyphos’ (red butterhead), and if leaf location within the head (lower or mid leaves) differs in nutritional composition. The experiment was conducted in the spring of 2023 in a high tunnel, and setup as a completely randomized design with 4 replications. At horticultural maturity (40 days after germination), the lower and mid leaves were harvested. Lettuce samples were frozen and shipped to Auburn University where samples were assayed for total chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolics and antioxidant activity via UV VIS spectrophotometry. Carotenoids of violaxanthin, neoxanthin, lutein and -carotene were quantitated by UPLC/MS. The interaction of leaf location*cultivar (P < 0.05) indicated that the lower leaves of ‘Skyphos’ lettuce had the highest total anthocyanin content at 2.94 mg/L compared to ‘Nancy’ at 0.05 mg/L, respectively. No other differences (P > 0.05) were detected between the cultivars. Sample location differed in total carotenoids (mg/g) and total chlorophyll (mg/g) with the lower leaves having the highest nutritional composition at 1380.18 and 5973.58 mg/g, respectively compared to the mid leaves (509.02 and 1684.42 mg/g, respectively). Chlorophyll a (4399.67 mg/g) and b (1573.90 mg/g) was also highest in the lower leaves of both cultivars compared to the mid leaves. Our results indicate that both butterhead lettuce cultivar and leaf location strongly impacts human health. ‘Skyphos’, a red butterhead lettuce, had the high highest total anthocyanin content in the lower leaves. Anthocyanins are critical phytochemicals known for many health promoting properties such as free radical scavenging, and anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties. This experiment also indicated the lower leaves of both cultivars had the highest amount of total chlorophyll and carotenoids. The lower leaves of red butterhead lettuces, such as ‘Skyphos’, should be eaten to obtain the highest nutrition for their diet.
