Dm. Maestri et al., Correlation of maturity groups with seed composition in soybeans, as influenced by genotypic variation, GRASAS ACEI, 49(5-6), 1998, pp. 395-399
Seeds of 19 soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) with maturity grou
ps V, VI or VII were analyzed for proximate composition, fatty acids and st
erols. Protein, oil, carbohydrate and ash contents varied between 344-463 g
kg(-1), 178-233 g kg(-1), 234-338 g kg(-1) and 40.0-49.3 g kg(-1) of dry m
atter, respectively. Fatty acid profiles revealed that the major acids were
palmitic (9.2-12.5%), oleic (17.7-22.1%) and linoleic (53.6-56.9%). Linole
nic acid ranged from 8.6 to 10.4%. Sitosterol (48.1-56.8%) was the main com
ponent of the sterol fraction, followed by campesterol (18.4-21.7%) and sti
gmasterol (13.4-18.0%). Statistically significant differences between genot
ypes were found for the majority of parameters evaluated, but there are not
significant variations among maturity groups.