Abstract:
The main nutritional components of six
Polygonatum species, including
P. filipes,
P. cyrtonema,
P. kingianum var.
grandifolium,
P. kingianum Coll.et Hemsl,
P. punctatum, and
P. cirrhifolium in Qiandongnan Prefecture were systematically analyzed, which provided scientific basis for the evaluation, development and utilization of germplasm resources of
Polygonatum in this area. The basic nutritional components such as moisture, protein, crude ash, vitamin C, reducing sugar and crude fat were determined by using the national standard method, and the composition and content of 16 amino acids were determined by using the amino acid analyzer. The results showed that there were significant differences in the nutritional components among the six species of
Polygonatum germplasms in Qiandongnan Prefecture. Among them, the protein content of
P. kingianum Coll.et Hemsl was the highest (14.91 g·hg
−1), and the total amino acid content was 10.07 g·hg
−1, with its essential amino acid pattern meeting the ideal protein standard.
P. cyrtonema and
P. kingianum var.
grandifolium contained higher levels of reducing sugars (7.27 g·hg
−1 and 6.84 g·hg
−1, respectively).
P. filipes exhibited superior performance in the contents of vitamin C (3.16 mg·hg
−1) and crude ash (6.91 g·hg
−1). All
Polygonatum germplasms were rich in flavor amino acids (45.2%−49.8% of total amino acids), and showed balanced amino acid composition. Different
Polygonatum germplasms in Qiandongnan Prefecture possessed distinct nutritional characteristics. The chemical diversity of these nutritional composition provided an important basis for the germplasm identification, quality evaluation and differential utilization of
Polygonatum resources.