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Total lipids and omega-3 fatty acids in purslane (Portulaca oleracea) were determined in leaves, stems and whole plants at three ages. Significant differences (P<0.05} existed in levels of total lipids among ages and between leaves and stems, but no relationship of age to plant part (>0.05) was found. Contents of 18:3r 20:5w3, 22:5w3, 22:6r 18:2r and 18:1co9 showed that leaves were the richer source of omega-3 acids at each age. KEY WORDS: Lipids, omega-three fatty acids, purslane.

In addition to oil and soyfoods, soybean is also produced for vegetable use. The importance of consuming vegetable soybean for the prevention of chronic diseases is well documented. The objectives of this study were to determine the magnitude of genotype x year interactions for isoflavone concentration and pattern, estimate heritabilities, and identify genotypes with a stable isoflavone concentration and pattern. Thirty-one soybean genotypes from maturity groups (MGs) III to VI were grown at Randolph Research Farm of Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia, during 3 years. The genotypes were harvested at immature green pod stage (R6-R7) and analyzed for isoflavone contents. Significant (P < 0.05) differences among the genotypes were found for genistein, daidzein, glycitein, and total isoflavones. The genotype x year interactions were also significant (P < 0.05) for the seed traits analyzed, indicating that the performance of the genotype changes from year to year. However, genotypes Pella and Aoda consistently showed with higher means than the overall means for all the seed traits throughout the 3 years. MG differences were also observed for genistein, daidzein, and total isoflavone content. Low- to moderate-heritability estimates of 54, 45, 58, and 64% were observed for genistein, daidzein, glycitein, and total isoflavone content, respectively, suggesting that the seed traits are equally influenced by environments and genetic variations. In general, for all seed traits with the exception of daidzein, the percentage contribution of genotype to the total sum of square was higher than the genotype x year interaction. The seed traits were interdependent and the associations among them were positive and significant suggesting that simultaneous selection and improvements are possible.

A profile of the sensory characteristics of green soybean and consumer intent of purchasing the product were determined. Thirty-one green soybean genotypes from maturity groups III to VI harvested between R6 and R7 were frozen, boiled, shelled, and evaluated for color, texture, sweetness, nuttiness, beaniness, oiliness, aftertaste and overall eating quality by three sensory panels. Results showed highly significant (p <0.01) variabilities among the genotypes in all sensory parameters and highly significant correlations among several parameters. The green soybeans, when boiled, ranged from lightly green to green, were slightly resistant to chewing, slightly nutty, slightly beany, not oily, imparted a pleasant aftertaste and had a fairly good overall eating quality. The green soybeans would be potentially acceptable as a vegetable in the frozen state and for use in recipes. When selecting genotypes for production, consideration should be given to the sensory attributes of the genotypes, because there was significant variability among the characteristics of the green soybeans, and several characteristics together enhanced the overall acceptability of the vegetable soybeans. To further increase the acceptability of green soybeans as a vegetable, geneticists need to consider breeding a vegetable soybean that has as many desirable sensory attributes as possible.