Field Crops Research 156 (2014) 76–83 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Field Crops Research jou rn al hom ep age: www.elsevier.com/locate/fcr Isoﬂavones and anthocyanins analysis in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merill) from three different planting locations in Korea Eun-Hye Kim a , Oh-Kyu Lee b , Jae Kwang Kim c , Sun-Lim Kim d , Joohyun Lee a , Seung-Huyn Kim a , Ill-Min Chung a,∗ a Department of Applied Bioscience, College of Life and Environmental Science, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea b Korea Forest Research Institute, 57 Hoegiro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-712, Republic of Korea c Division of Life Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, Incheon 406-772, Republic of Korea d National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon 441-857, Republic of Korea a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 31 July 2013 Received in revised form 31 October 2013 Accepted 31 October 2013 Keywords: Glycine max Partial least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) Planting locations Isoﬂavones Anthocyanins a b s t r a c t The analysis of 12 isoﬂavones in two soybean cultivars, Cheongjakong 3, Taekwangkong and 9 anthocyanins in the black seed coat color Cheongjakong 3 soybean cultivars grown in three dif- ferent planting locations was conducted. The proﬁles of 12 isoﬂavones identiﬁed from the soybean seeds were subjected to partial least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) to evaluate the differ- ences among soybean cultivars and cultivation locations. PLS-DA could fully distinguish between two cultivars. Cheongjakong 3 cultivar was higher in isoﬂavone than Taekwangkong cultivar. Among the combinations of cultivar and region, Cheongjakong 3 grown in Yesan showed the highest isoﬂavone contents (2.435 mole g -1 of malonylgenistin), followed by Cheongjakong 3 (1.940 mole g -1 of malonylgenistin) grown in Suwon. The environment signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced the isoﬂavones contents of the soybeans. The total isoﬂavone contents positively correlated strongly with mal- onylglycoside [malonyldaidzin + malonylgenistin + malonylglycitin] (r = 0.99***) and glycoside groups [daidzin + genistin + glycitin] (r = 0.89**), while the contents of glycitin, genistin, acetyldaidzin, acetyl- genistin, daidzein, glycitein, genistein did not showed signiﬁcant correlation with total isoﬂavone. Both isoﬂavone contents and the content of malonylglycoside groups negatively correlated (r = -0.68*) with the temperature during seed pod development. Malonyldaidzin, malonylglycitin, and malonylgenistin concentrations were also inﬂuenced by cultivar and planting region. Between the combinations of cul- tivar and area, Cheongjakong 3 grown in Suwon exhibited the highest level in the total contents of the anthocyanins, while Cheongjakong 3 grown in Miryang had the lowest. Cyanidin-3-glucoside and the anthocyanin contents were negatively correlated with the temperature in June (r = -0.86*, r = -0.85*) and September (r = -0.85*, r = -0.86*). These results suggest that cooler environments may be more suitable for the production of soybeans with higher isoﬂavone and anthocyanin content. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merill) is a highly utilized and pop- ular crop throughout the world. Particularly in Asia, soybeans are used in various forms including soya paste, soybean sprouts, soya curd, soymilk, tofu, and oil. Various reports can be found in the literature regarding the protective effects of soy against heart dis- ease, osteoporosis, and various cancers including breast and colon cancers (Messina and Messina, 2010; Kim et al., 2012a). Soybean contains various phytochemicals such as isoﬂavones, anthocyanins, and other compounds like tocopherols and soyas- aponins. A number of studies have demonstrated that the beneﬁcial ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 450 3730; fax: +82 2 446 7856. E-mail address: imcim@konkuk.ac.kr (I.-M. Chung). effects of soybeans can be attributed to these phytochemicals (Messina and Messina, 2010; Kim et al., 2006; Lee et al., 2006; Ha et al., 2009; Sakthivelu et al., 2008). Kim et al. (2006) reported that the isoﬂavone, soyasaponin, protein, lipid and free sugar con- centrations in two soybean cultivars (Sojinkong, Daepungkong) was affected by development and maturation stage. Also, Ha et al. (2009) reported that anthocyanin and isoﬂavone concentrations in black soybeans (Heugcheong, Seonheuk, Geomjeong 1, Geom- jeong 2 and Geomjeong 3) exhibited signiﬁcant different according to altitude of planting locations [Miryang (Gyeongsangnam-Do, Korea) and Muju (Jeollabuk-Do, Korea)]. Another study indicated that malonylglycoside, total genistein and total daidzein of India (4 cultivars) and Bulgaria (7 cultivars) soybeans cultivars showed positive correlation with total isoﬂavones (Sakthivelu et al., 2008). Isoﬂavones are the most common form of phytoestrogen and are found in legumes specially, soybeans are particularly rich 0378-4290/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2013.10.020