Abstract
The biochemical and nutritional attributes of two soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars, one susceptible (Seridó) and the other resistant (Seridó-RCH) to stem canker, were examined to assess whether the resistance to pathogens was related to levels of antinutritional and/or defense proteins in the plant and subsequently affected the nutritional quality. Lectin, urease, trypsin inhibitor, peroxidase and chitinase activities were higher in the resistant cultivar. Growing rats were fed with isocaloric and isoproteic diets prepared with defatted raw soybean meals. Those on the Seridó-RCH diet showed the worst performance in terms of protein quality indicators. Based on regression analysis, lectin, trypsin inhibitor, peroxidase and chitinase appear to be involved in the resistance trait but also in the poorer nutritional quality of Seridó-RCH. Thus, the development of cultivars for disease resistance may lead to higher concentrations of antinutritional compounds, affecting the quality of soybean seeds. Further research that includes the assessment of more cultivars/genotypes is needed.
Highlights
Natural genetic variation within species and among related species has been one of the main sources of diversity for crop improvement [1]
Trypsin inhibitor activity (g of trypsin inhibited per kg of flour) was significantly higher in the crude extract from the Seridó-RCH cultivar than in that from Seridó
The highest hemagglutinating activity (g of lectin equivalents per kg of flour) measured against rabbit erythrocytes was detected for Seridó-RCH compared with the Seridó cultivar
Summary
Natural genetic variation within species and among related species has been one of the main sources of diversity for crop improvement [1]. Little attention has been paid to metabolic changes occurring in successive generations. This issue has gained importance only recently in the context of safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops [2]. This issue is of great significance because several studies have reported wide variation in the chemical and nutritional composition of genetically close cultivars of important legume seeds, such as soybeans, obtained by conventional plant breeding [3,4]. Little is known about the consequences of the observed differences resulting from plant breeding and the impact of the possible unintended effects on the nutritional value of crops
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