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Organically vs. Conventionally Grown Vegetables: Multi-elemental Analysis and Nutritional Evaluation

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Abstract

Vegetables are important contributors to a healthy diet, and their adequate daily intake can help prevent some of the major illnesses. The aim of the study was to examine the content of the major and trace elements in selected organically grown (OG) and conventionally grown (CG) vegetables (cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprout, beetroot, carrot, potato, and onion), taken from city green markets. Multi-elemental analysis was carried out by inductively coupled plasma method with optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Nutritional quality evaluation in comparison to nutritional reference values was done. In studied vegetables, Al, Ca, K, Fe (with the exception of organic kohlrabi), Mg, Na, P, S, and Zn were quantified in all samples, whereas As, Cd, Co, Hg, Se, and V were below the limit of detection for these elements. Macroelements and trace elements were found at higher concentrations in OG and CG vegetables, respectively. Differences in concentrations of studied elements between the same vegetable species produced in two agricultural systems were significant, except for beetroot (p ≤ 0.05). Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis results showed that the botanical origin had higher influence on sample differentiation than the agronomic practice, which was in accordance with the results obtained by Mann-Whitney U test. Good quality of both OG and CG vegetables in respect of nutritionally beneficial elements was observed.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to the Public Utility Company “Belgrade City Markets” for enabling vegetable sampling.

Funding

This work resulted from research within the framework of the contract for the realization and financing of scientific research work in 2020 between the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of the Republic of Serbia, registration number contracts: 451-03-9/2021-14/ 200116 and 451-03-9/2021-14/ 200168.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture, Department for Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, Belgrade, 11080, Serbia

    Jelena B. Popović-Djordjević, Aleksandar Ž. Kostić, Miloš B. Rajković & Irena Miljković

  2. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, Belgrade, 11158, Serbia

    Đurđa Krstić & Ilija Brčeski

  3. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Naples, Italy

    Gianluca Caruso

  4. Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

    Sina Siavash Moghaddam

Authors
  1. Jelena B. Popović-Djordjević
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  8. Ilija Brčeski
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Contributions

Conceptualization and methodology, J.P.Dj.; sample preparation and investigation, I.M. and A.K.; instrumental analysis, I.B.; data curation, M.B.R. and S.S.M.; statistical analyzes, Đ.K.; writing—original draft preparation, J.P.Dj. and I.B.; writing—review and editing, J.P.Dj., SSM and G.C.; visualization, J.P.Dj.; supervision, J.P.Dj., G.C. and I.B. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ilija Brčeski.

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Popović-Djordjević, J.B., Kostić, A.Ž., Rajković, M.B. et al. Organically vs. Conventionally Grown Vegetables: Multi-elemental Analysis and Nutritional Evaluation. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 426–436 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02639-9

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