Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain is often eaten worldwide as a healthy food, but consuming nutrient-rich quinoa leaves as a leafy green vegetable is uncommon. This study evaluated the potentiality of leafy green quinoa as a major source of protein, amino acids, and minerals in the human diet. Also, the study compared the nutrient content of quinoa leaves with those of amaranth and spinach leaves. The proximate analysis of quinoa dry leaves showed a higher amount (g/100 g dry weight) of protein (37.05) than amaranth (27.45) and spinach (30.00 g). Furthermore, a lower amount of carbohydrate (34.03) was found in quinoa leaves compared to amaranth (47.90) and spinach (43.78 g). A higher amount of essential amino acids was found in quinoa leaves relative to those of amaranth and spinach. The highest amounts (mg/100 g dry weight) of minerals in quinoa dry leaves were copper (1.12), manganese (26.49), and potassium (8769.00 mg), followed by moderate amounts of calcium (1535.00), phosphorus (405.62), sodium (15.12), and zinc (6.79 mg). Our findings suggest that quinoa leaves can be consumed as a green vegetable with an excellent source of nutrients. Therefore, we endorse the inclusion of quinoa in the leafy green vegetable group.

No abstract

In the last decade, more than 70 quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] partial resistance (PR) against Phytophthora sojae have been identified by genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). However, most of them have either a minor effect on the resistance level or are specific to a single phenotypic variable or one isolate, thereby limiting their use in breeding programs. In this study, we have used an analytical approach combining (a) the phenotypic characterization of a diverse panel of 357 soybean accessions for resistance to P. sojae captured through a single variable, corrected dry weight; (b) a new hydroponic assay allowing the inoculation of a combination of P. sojae isolates covering the spectrum of commercially relevant Rps genes; and (c) exhaustive genotyping through whole‐genome resequencing (WGS). This led to the identification of a novel P. sojae resistance QTL with a relatively major effect compared with the previously reported QTL. The QTL interval, spanning ∼500 kb on chromosome (Chr) 15, does not colocalize with previously reported QTL for P. sojae resistance. Plants carrying the favorable allele at this QTL were 60% more resistant. Eight genes were found to reside in the linkage disequilibrium (LD) block containing the peak single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) including Glyma.15G217100, which encodes a major latex protein (MLP)‐like protein, with a functional annotation related to pathogen resistance. Expression analysis of Glyma.15G217100 indicated that it was nearly eight times more highly expressed in a group of plant introductions (PIs) carrying the resistant (R) allele compared with those carrying the susceptible (S) allele within a short period after inoculation. These results offer new and valuable options to develop improved soybean cultivars with broad resistance to P. sojae through marker‐assisted selection.

This paper presents a simple analytical method for determining sugars in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) tissues. Sample preparation was modified from several early published methods. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) was used to separate, identify, and quantify seven sugars, including glucose, galactose, fructose, sucrose, melibiose, raffinose, and stachyose. Two mobile phases were programed into a gradient elution. Mobile phase A is pure water and mobile phase B is a mixture of acetonitrile and acetone 75 : 25 (v/v). Total chromatographic retention time is less than 20 minutes. This method has been validated for detection limit, calibration range, and intraday and interday repeatability. This method has been used analyzing more than 5000 soybean samples in the experiments studying natural genetic variation of sugar contents and components in soybean seeds and other tissues.