EDXRF for screening micronutrients in lentil and sorghum biofortification breeding programs

Abstract

Background and aims This study explores the use of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) for screening micronutrient concentrations in lentil and sorghum grain for biofortification breeding programs. Methods Lentil and sorghum seed was provided from biofortification breeding programs and analysed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the reference concentration levels of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. A subset of these samples was used to establish the EDXRF calibration and another subset used for validation of the method. Results The results show the EDXRF analyses of the lentil and sorghum are not significantly different to the reference ICP-MS for all elements analysed, except for Mn with %RSD of replicate analysis < 5 % for lentil analysis and < 10 % for sorghum. Conclusions EDXRF analysis enables rapid and accurate analysis of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn in lentil and sorghum.

Screening Ca concentration in staple food crops with energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF)

“…However, the requirement for samples being ground, pressed and analysed under a vacuum increases both the time and cost of analysis. It has previously been shown that Ca analysis of whole seeds under an air atmosphere is feasible (Guild and Stangoulis 2021). These results show it is possible to analyse the smaller seed crops (rice and pearl millet) as whole grain and still produce a robust calibration and validation (r 2 > 0.9), however the remaining crops required seed to be ground to flour to produce suitably robust calibrations as seen in Figure 1.…”

“…EDXRF requires minimal sample preparation and a fast non-destructive analysis requiring minimal consumables and a rapid analysis time. EDXRF analysis of Ca in various food products has been reported previously (Perring and Andrey 2003;Perring and Andrey 2018;Perring et al 2019) in plants and food crops (Ekinci et al 2004;Guild and Stangoulis 2021;Kalcsits 2016). To develop a robust XRF calibration it is essential to have samples with robust reference values and a wide range of concentrations for the element(s) of interest.…”

“…Additionally, these analyses require samples to be ground, weighed, digested, diluted and analysed resulting in an expensive and time-consuming process. We have previously shown the benefits of using EDXRF to screen Fe and Zn concentration in breeding programs (Guild et al 2017;Guild and Stangoulis 2021;Paltridge et al 2012a;Paltridge et al 2012b). EDXRF requires minimal sample preparation and a fast non-destructive analysis requiring minimal consumables and a rapid analysis time.…”

“…We have previously shown it is possible to develop an EDXRF Ca calibration for whole grain sorghum (sorghum bicolor) and lentil (lens culinaris) (Guild and Stangoulis 2021) and here we present data for Ca analysis for more of the HarvestPlus crops of interest, specifically, rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), maize (Zea mays L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.).…”

“…;Guild and Stangoulis 2021; Paltridge et al 2012a; Paltridge et al 2012b), analysis was performed on samples of >5g in supplied 35 mm diameter sample cups sealed with 4 μm Poly-4 (polypropylene) XRF film.StatisticsCalibration and validation statistics reported are defined below(Perring and Andrey 2003) …”