THE EFFECT OF CULTIVAR AND ENVIRONMENT ON SAPONIN CONTENT OF AUSTRALIAN SWEET LUPIN SEED

Seed from six cultivars of the lupin species Lupinus angustifolius wer e grown over 2 years in four areas of Australia, with up to 15 plots s ampled within each area. Saponin contents in the harvested seed ranged from 379 to 740 mg kg(-1). Three saponins were detected, two of which possessed chromatographic properties identical to soyasaponins I and VI, while the third appeared to possess a novel structure. The changes observed in saponin content were found to be mainly dependent on vari ety, followed by the site and then the region where grown. No signific ant effect was found between growing seasons although there was a stro ng correlation between saponin content and the site grown.