Nutritional and Anti-Nutritional Factors in Vicia sativa L. Seeds and the Variability of Phenotypic and Morphological Characteristics of Some Vetch Accessions Cultivated in European Countries

Abstract

Agricultural research has traditionally focused on staple crops, while relatively little attention has been given to minor crops. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the nutrient contents and some anti-nutritional factors in the seeds of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and the variation of phenotypic and morphological traits in field studies of 44 European accessions, originating from Russia, Ukraine, Poland (east and east-central Europe), the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary (south-central Europe), and Germany (west-central Europe) and grown in the same soil-climate conditions. A three-year field study was conducted from 2010 to 2012. Accessions originating from west-central Europe flowered three days earlier than those from south-central Europe. They also had the lowest seed number per pod (5.9) but the highest thousand seed weight (58 g) (p < 0.05). Vetch lines coming from south-central Europe contained the highest level of crude protein in comparison with vetch seeds originating from west-central Europe (353 vs. 324 g kg−1, respectively) (p < 0.05), but the latter had the highest essential amino acid index value (75 vs. 71 in west-central Europe and south-central Europe, respectively) (p < 0.05). The highest protein level was noted in the seeds of Slovak origin (average 358 g kg−1), whereas the lowest protein level (324 g kg−1) was determined in the Russian and German lines. Vetch grain fat was rich in linoleic (53%) and linolenic (14%) acids. The best n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio (4) and the highest α-linolenic acid level were exhibited by the Slovak and Polish accessions (p < 0.05). The seeds of vetch accessions from east, east-central, and south-central Europe contained higher levels of (p < 0.05) iron than those originating from west-central Europe. The concentration of tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and hydrogen cyanide reached on average 8, 3, and 81 mg kg−1, respectively. The highest hydrogen cyanide (HCN) levels was determined in the accessions of German and Russian origin (126 and 119 mg kg−1, respectively), and the lowest values were noted in the Slovak and Polish lines (50 and 67 mg HCN kg−1, respectively). Furthermore, the Polish accessions contained the lowest levels of tannins and trypsin inhibitors. Common vetch seeds may be valuable protein feed/food stuff, but their nutritional usefulness is limited by the presence of anti-nutritional factors, especially HCN, which is difficult to remove. Further selection in this direction may be postulated.

Effect of Vicia sativa L. on Motility, Mortality and Expression Levels of hsp Genes in J2 Stage of Meloidogyne hapla

“…Common vetch cultivation protects the soil against moisture loss and enriches it with nitrogen and organic matter. V. sativa also provides seeds and green forage for livestock (Huang et al, 2017;Nguyen et al, 2020;Rodrigo-Comino et al, 2020;Grela et al, 2021). Plantparasitic nematodes inhabiting the soil are known to be affected by common vetch.…”

Designing Novel Strategies for Improving Old Legumes: An Overview from Common Vetch

“…The nutritional content of the vetch seeds has been analyzed, and great differences in protein content, fatty acid composition, and mineral composition, including iron, were observed between accessions from different geographical origins. Although these studies have been carried out on a small scale, these data support the use of the variability of genetic resources from the gene banks of V. sativa for breeding purposes [ 33 ]. Remarkably, the large variation in crude protein and mineral content between different cultivars is much greater even than that due to climatic conditions [ 2 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…However, the inclusion of a high proportion of common vetch seeds in the diet of ruminants does not produce relevant negative effects on their health [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. The levels of anti-nutritional factors such as tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and hydrogen cyanide nutrients show huge variations between different accessions conserved in gene banks [ 33 ]. These variations have permitted the selection of low vicianine levels in common vetch accessions and have allowed the production of cultivars such as Blanchefluer without vicianine [ 51 , 52 ], extensively growing in Australia as a substitute for red lentils, although its consumption in humans is residual [ 17 ].…”

An Interdisciplinary Assessment of Biochemical and Antioxidant Attributes of Six Greek Vicia sativa L. Varieties

“…With respect to the individual fatty acid content, previous reports have already identified as the prevailing fatty acids the palmitic, linoleic, α-linolenic and oleic acids [35,46]. Additionally, the myristic, palmitoleic, stearic, eicosanoic, erucic and lignoceric acids have also been detected in vetch grains [46], while the lauric, myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, eicosanoic, oleic, linoleic and α-linolenic acids were identified as components of vetch biomass.…”