Free Amino Acid Composition of Korean Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) Cultivars as Influenced by Different Harvesting Time

BACKGROUND: There is lack of comprehensive compositional data of the amino acid profile of spinach with regard to different cultivars. A more detailed knowledge in this aspect will be of benefit in the future selection of spinach genotypes with improved nutritional quality.METHODS AND RESULTS: The effects of cultivar type (Jeoncheonhu, Sagyejul, Namdongcho and Mustang) and harvest time (79th, 116th and 145th days after sowing or DAS) on the concentrations of free amino acids in field-grown spinach (Spinacia oleracea) were examined. About 35 different free amino acids were detected and quantified by the amino acid analyzer. Glutamic acid and proline were identified as the major amino acids, while α -aminoadipic acid and α-aminobutyric acid were present in much lower concentrations. Spinach constituted 1468.4 mg/100 g total free amino acids (TAA), of which essential amino acids, neutral/acidic amino acids and sulphur containing amino acids constituted around 15, 45 and 2% of the TAA, respectively. The most limiting amino acids among the leafy vegetables - cysteine was recorded only in Mustang harvested at 116 DAS. Free amino acid contents did not differ significantly among the spinach cultivars and also at different harvest times.CONCLUSION: The data show that, either of the spinach cultivars, preferably Mustang harvested on or after 116 DAS can serve as a significant source of nutritionally relevant amino acids to meet the demand of the growing populations.