Physicochemical study of a germplasm collection of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) landraces from the Canary Islands

Abstract

The Canary Islands have a wide variety of pea landraces (Pisum sativum L.), preserved by the Tenerife Genebank, with diverse phenotypes and geographic origins. This study examined the physicochemical composition (weight per 100 seeds, moisture, starch, protein, fiber, ash, sugars, total phenolics (TPs), pH, acidity, minerals, and trace elements) of 23 local pea accessions to evaluate their nutritional profile for feeding purposes. Significant differences were found among the accessions in all the parameters analyzed, and in general, the data were within the range described in the literature for pea. Two accessions (CBT01539 and CBT02319) presented high levels of trace elements and high TP contents (CBT02319).Acorrelation study revealed that theweight per 100 seeds decreased when the TPs and pH increased. Starch was negatively correlated with protein, fiber, ash, sucrose, and acidity, whereas protein increased when the fiber and ash contents increased. Similarly, the Fe, Cu, and Zn contents were positively correlated with each other. Principal component analysis allowed the separation of peas into sativum, arvense, and hybrid varieties according to the content of major nutrients and the relationship between weight per 100 seeds and TP compounds.