The content of minerals in Slovenian organic and conventional produced fruits, herbs and vegetables

Abstract

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.

Comparative study of the quality indices, antioxidant substances, and mineral elements in different forms of cabbage

“…Furthermore, our correlation analysis showed that the correlations among K, Mg, Cu, and Mn are different in different forms of cabbage. Several studies have also shown that the correlation between mineral elements varies in cabbage, but no relationship law has been established [ 63 , 64 ].…”

Morphological Characteristics of Some Pepper Genotypes (Capsicum annuum L.) Grown in Conventional and Organic Agricultural Systems: Comparative Analysis

“…Most of these studies indicate certain advantages of organically produced agricultural products, primarily in terms of the impact of the production process on the environment, as well as in terms of quality properties of products [7][8][9]. Some studies, while acknowledging the positive organic production impact on the environment, suggest that there is no significant difference between the organic and the conventional production system in terms of qualitative properties, yield, and morphological agricultural products characteristics of agricultural products [10][11][12][13][14]. Apart from the variety or genotype and the climate and soil conditions, morphological characteristics of the pepper are strongly influenced by the agrotechnical measures applied in the production [1][2].…”