Nutritional characterization of Italian common bean landraces (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): Fatty acid profiles for "genotype-niche diversity" fingerprints

Major problems facing common bean production in the European Union include the significant and consistent decrease in legume consumption and the potential risk to local landraces by commercial cultivars. With the need to both increase local Phaseolus vulgaris L. ecotype production and to expand studies on potential genetic diversity impacts on nutritional components, the aim was to investigate a range of nutritional constituents in the Italian landraces, "Zolfino del Pratomagno" (Tuscany), "Fagiolo di Sarconi" (Basilicata) and "Fagiolo di Lamon (Veneto). Zolfino landraces were distinctive for significantly higher levels of amino acids, G2 protein fraction (lectin), ash, as well as total lipid and Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA) content, with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) depicting a divergence of Zolfino from the Sarconi and Lamon landraces, respectively. Fatty acid profiles were distinctive for landrace. An equivalent ratio of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) to MUFA was evident for Zolfino. LDA showed distinctive, separate cluster groupings for the landraces, with Zolfino differentiated by the combined increased levels of oleic and palmitoleic acids, and the presence of heptadecanoic acid. The Sarconi landraces were characterized by the combined higher palmitic and linolenic acids and the absence of both myristic and tridecanoic acids, whereas the Lamon landraces were characterized by combination of higher linolenic acid, lower palmitic acid and the presence of both myristic and tridecanoic acids. The potential of expanding studies to include fatty acid profiles as possible sources of "genotype-niche diversity" fingerprints for common bean is shown to be feasible.