The demand for organically produced food is increasing. There is widespread belief that organic food is substantially healthier and safer than conventional food. According to literature organic food is free of phytopharmaceutical residues, contain less nitrates and more antioxidants. The aim of the present study was to verify if there are any differences in the antioxidant activity between selected Slovenian organic and conventional crops. Method of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl) was used to determine the antioxidant activity of 16 samples from organic and conventional farms. The same varieties of crops were analysed. DPPH method was employed to measure the antioxidant activity of polar antioxidants (AA p ) and antioxidant activity of fraction in ethyl acetate soluble antioxidants (EA AA). Descriptive statistics and variance analysis were used to describe differences between farming systems. Estimated differences between interactions for the same crop and different farming practice were mostly not statistically significant except for the AA p for basil and beetroot. Higher statistically significant values were estimated for conventional crops. For the EA AA in broccoli, cucumber, rocket and cherry statistically significant higher values were estimated for organic production.

The present study aims to compare mineral composition of fruits, herbs and vegetables grown conventionally and according to organic practice. Fruits, herbs and vegetables have been identified as leading dietary source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. These compounds are very variable in the composition and in the concentration among cultivars and species. Determination of calcium (Ca), potassium (K), phosphorus (P) sulphur (S) and chlorine (Cl) was performed with Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). We found that among organic crops basil, parsley, pears, peppers, rockets and celery had higher calcium contents in comparison to conventional ones. Organically produced broccoli, eggplant, parsley, rocket and celery had higher potassium contents as well as pepper, rockets, celery, beetroots and tomatoes had higher phosphorus contents. Likewise, higher sulphur content was found in organically produced parsley, rocket, celery and raspberries. Results of this study demonstrated that in general there are no rules in the content of minerals between different farming systems.Key words: mineral content, EDXRF, organic farming, conventional farming, fruits, herbs, vegetables IZVLEČEK RAZLIKE V VSEBNOSTI MINERALOV MED SLOVENSKIM EKOLOŠKO IN KONVENCIONALNO PRIDELANIM SADJEM, ZELIŠČI IN ZELENJAVONamen opravljene študije je narediti primerjavo vsebnosti mineralov ekoloških in konvencionalnih pridelkov glede na način kmetovanja. Sadje, zelišča in zelenjava so poznani kot glavni vir prehranskih antioksidantov, vitaminov in mineralov. Te spojine se razlikujejo glede na sestavo in koncentracijo znotraj posameznih vrst. Energijsko disperzijska rentgenska fluorescentna spektrometrija (EDXRF) je bila uporabljena za določevanje vsebnosti kalcija (Ca), kalija (K), fosforja (P), žvepla (S) in klora (Cl). Ugotovili smo, da so imeli med ekološkimi pridelki večje vsebnosti kalcija bazilika, peteršilj, hruška, paprika, rukola in zelena. Večje vsebnosti kalija so bile v ekološkem brokoliju, melancanu, peteršilju, rukoli in zeleni, v primerjavi s konvencionalnimi pridelki. Večje vsebnosti fosforja so bile v ekološki papriki, rukoli, zeleni, rdeči pesi in paradižniku. Glede na konvencionalne pridelke je bila večja vsebnost žvepla izmerjena v peteršilju, rukoli, zeleni in malinah. Rezultati so pokazali, da se vsebnost mineralov v pridelkih ne razlikuje glede na različen načinov kmetovanja.