Abstract
The role of special corns in human diets is increasing as a result of their favourable nutritional values. Little is known about mineral contents of different red and blue corns, although they may help to inhibit deficiency diseases mainly in the developing countries. During this study, mineral contents (15 elements) of 3 red and 9 blue corn varieties were examined with ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Highest contents of macroelements were as follows: P (3859.5±562.1 mg kg −1), K (4325.0±469.5 mg kg −1) and Mg (1450.0±104.6 mg kg −1) in the variety Black Mexican, S (1555.0±128.6 mg kg −1) in Santo Domingo Blue. In case of microelements, iron, zinc and selenium were highlighted. Except one genotype, iron contents were above 30 mg kg −1. Blaumais, Hopi Turquoise and Hopi Blue contained more than 40 mg kg −1 (41.0–46.3), which were above values published in the literature (10.0 mg kg −1 in average). For zinc, we measured 15.2–31.5 mg kg −1. Selenium contents (0.1–0.2 mg kg −1) were also higher than in the literature (0.08 mg kg −1). Plant selection could utilize variability of special element contents in enhancing these phenomena.
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Bódi, Z., Pepó, P., Kovács, A. et al. Macro- and Microelement Contents of Blue and Red Kernel Corns. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 36, 147–155 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1556/CRC.36.2008.1.15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/CRC.36.2008.1.15