Contents of Certain Isoflavones in Glycine dolichocarpa, G. tabacina and G. tomentella Collected in Taiwan
SU-JU LIN1, HORNG-LIANG LAY1*, SHU-TU WU2 AND FU-SHENG THSENG2
1. Department of Plant Industry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), Pingtung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
2. Department of Agronomy, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
(Received: August 4, 2003; Accepted: April 25, 2005)
ABSTRACT
Glycine tabacina, G. tomentella and G. dolichocarpa are three wild perennial soybean species native to Taiwan. Glycine tabacina and G. tomentella are the source of I-Tiao-Gung, a Chinese herb. This study was commissioned to measure the presence of isoflavones in each and qualify/quantify isoflavone content using an appropriately configured multi-component HPLC method. Isoflavone in these soybean species was most heavily concentrated in the root systems. Daidzein was the predominant isoflavone found throughout plant structures, with the exception of G. tomentella seeds. Isoflavone concentrations were highest in the roots and stems of G. tabacina, in the leaves of G. tomentella, and in the seeds of G. dolichocarpa. Significant differences in isoflavone levels exist between species and structural components. The results of this study can help set selection and qualification parameters for Glycine germplasm and serve as reference when confirming genetic markers in Chinese herbs.
Key words: wild soybean, Glycine, isoflavone, quantitative analysis, species variation