Abstract
Tocopherols are natural antioxidants that increase the stability of fat-containing foods and are well known for their health benefits. To investigate the variation in seed tocopherol composition of soybeans from different origins, 493 soybean accessions from different countries (China, USA, Japan, and Russia) belonging to 7 maturity groups (MG 0–VI) were grown in 2 locations (Beijing and Hainan Provinces of China) for 2 years (2017 and 2018). The results showed that significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed among the accessions and origins for individual and total tocopherol contents. The total tocopherol content ranged from 118.92 μg g−1 to 344.02 μg g−1. Accessions from the USA had the highest average concentration of γ- and total tocopherols (152.92 and 238.21 μg g−1, respectively), whereas a higher level of α-tocopherol (12.82 μg g−1) was observed in the Russian accessions. The maturity group of the accession significantly (p < 0.001) influenced all tocopherol components, and higher levels of α-, γ-, and total tocopherols were observed in early maturing accessions, while late-maturing accessions exhibited higher levels of δ-tocopherol. The inclination of tocopherol concentrations with various MGs provided further evidence of the significance of MG in soybean breeding for seed tocopherol components. Furthermore, the correlation between the seed tocopherol components and geographical factors revealed that α-, γ-, and total tocopherols had significant positive correlations with latitude, while δ-tocopherol showed an opposite trend. The elite accessions with high and stable tocopherol concentrations determined could be used to develop functional foods, industrial materials, and breeding lines to improve tocopherol composition in soybean seeds.
Highlights
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seeds are consumed worldwide, owing to their nutritional values and health benefits
The highest total tocopherol content was observed in accession PI592523 (344.02 μg g−1 ) from the USA, probably due to the presence of comparatively higher content of γ-tocopherol in the USA soybean accessions [2,19,20] and the lowest was observed in WDD02708 (118.92 μg g−1 ) from
The findings showed that early maturity group (MG) could affect soybean seed tocopherol composition differently comparing to late MGs at the same planting site or even on the same planting date, which could be due to the differences in growth periods of both early and late-maturing accessions
Summary
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seeds are consumed worldwide, owing to their nutritional values and health benefits. Soybean seeds are the principal source of natural tocopherols. Tocopherols are natural antioxidants that improve the stability of fat-containing foods and have vital biological functions as well as protect food from oxidation processes induced by free radicals [1]. They aid in preventing atherosclerosis, cancer, heart diseases, and neurological and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and strengthen the immune system [2,3,4,5]. Because of its nutritional value and importance for oil stability, increasing tocopherol content in soybean seeds through breeding programs has become a new and important objective
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