Temporospatial Characterization of Nutritional and Bioactive Components of Soybean Cultivars in China

Abstract

Nutritional and bioactive constituents, apart from protein and oil, have many beneficial functions and are of great importance in determining the quality and nutritional value of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. However, the temporospatial trends in soybean constituents have not been determined. The objective of this study was thus to identify the temporospatial trends in seed constituents among 89 widely grown soybean cultivars over a period of nine decades (1923–2007) in four soybean‐producing regions of China. A combination of analytical techniques was used to quantify eight categories of 35 seed constituents. The results include the following: (1) The temporal pattern (the genetic change) after nine decades of breeding was characterized by significantly increasing trends in the concentration of isoflavones, tocopherol, starch, sucrose, Ca, Mn, phospholipids and lectin, and decreasing trends in Zn, Cu and lutein concentrations. (2) The spatial distribution showed higher stachyose, Zn, isoflavone, saponin and lectin content in the cultivars from lower latitudes versus higher latitudes, and the content of tocopherol, carotenoid, oligosaccharides and phospholipids exhibited the reverse pattern. (3) According to principal component analysis, carotenoid, Fe and Mn, saponin components and glycitin were the most important contributors to the total variation across the 89 cultivars. These results provide us with a comprehensive profile for manipulating chemical constituents and improving various functional ingredients through breeding.

Impact of Elevated CO2 on Seed Quality of Soybean at the Fresh Edible and Mature Stages

“…Dried seed samples (0.5 g) were placed in 10 mL of 70% methanol solution; after shaking for 8 h at 240 rpm, the mix was centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 min and then filtered through a 0.45 μm filter. A detailed method for the determination of isoflavone concentration is described by Wu et al (2016) .…”

Analysis of soybean yield formation differences across different production regions in China

“…Soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an important grain and oil crop in the world and the main source of plant‐based protein and vegetable oil (Ainsworth, Yendrek, Skoneczka, & Long, 2012; Li et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2016). Soybean, originated in China, have been cultivated for more than 5,000 yr (Hymowitz & Newell, 1981).…”

From proteomics to ionomics: Soybean genetic improvement for better food safety

“…However, desirable properties have also been reported for lectins: Owing to their cytoagglutinating activity, soybean lectins are strongly binding to specific types of leukemic cells and might thus play a valuable role in cancer therapy (OHBA and BAKALOVA, 2003). Moreover, lectin content of Chinese soybean cultivars has steadily increased over the last 50 years (WU et al, 2016), which appears as an indirect response to selection for grain yield indicating relevant biological roles of the lectin protein in the soybean plant. Lectins may have functions during germination and seed maturation as well as in recognition of nodulating bacteria and in disease resistance (CLARKE and WISEMAN, 2000), which all might explain their increase over time.…”

“…A triple null soybean genotype containing null alleles for each the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor, the lectin and the P34 allergen protein has been described recently (SCHMIDT et al, 2015; see also Table 2). Apart from the lectin null trait, quanititative genetic variation in lectin content or lectin agglutinating activity was also described for commercially grown soybean cultivars from China (WU et al, 2016) and Brazil (VASCONCELOS et al, 1997), respectively. FATTY ACID COMPOSITION Considerable plant breeding research has been devoted to modifying the fatty acid composition of soybean oil towards a better food safety, improved health properties and optimized processing functionality.…”