Abstract
Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) contains protein of high nutritional value, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. It is one of the most important minor crops in China and has a great potential as a health and functional food. However, information on the elemental mineral composition of its seeds remains limited. The concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, K, and Mg in seeds of 123 tartary buckwheat accessions from the same cultivation were studied by means of flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The results revealed that the average concentrations of Cu (x1), Zn (x2), Fe (x3), K (x4), and Mg (x5) elements in the accessions are 19.49 (with a range of 5.74–36.01 mg/kg), 27.41 (8.44–66.63 mg/kg), 656.24 (21.8–3,990 mg/kg), 3,639.23 (1,737–5,831 mg/kg), and 1,523.89 mg/kg (729–3,104 mg/kg) respectively. Among them, Fe concentration has the highest coefficient of variation (114.7 %). The results also revealed five significant positive correlations among Cu, Zn, Fe, K, and Mg concentrations. Therefore, distinct genotypes with high concentration of mineral elements should be effective for the development of special buckwheat varieties and improvement of its food nutritional quality.
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Acknowledgments
The authors give thanks to the Natural Science Foundation of China (31060207, 31171609, 30471116), the Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-08-A4), Guizhou Key Agricultural Project (QianKeHe NY Zi [2010]3094), the Project of the Scientific and Technological Innovation Teams in Guizhou (QianKeHe RenCai TuanDui [2011]4007), the Foundation of Guizhou Natural Science (QiankeheJzi [2012]2268), and the Project of Guiyang Science and Technology (ZhuKeHeTong [2011102] 1-12) for providing funds.
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Huang, XY., Zeller, F.J., Huang, KF. et al. Variation of major minerals and trace elements in seeds of tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.). Genet Resour Crop Evol 61, 567–577 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-013-0057-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-013-0057-2