Amino Acid Contents in Different Korean Cultivars of Zea mays

Abstract

The present study investigated the variation in amino acids from different Korean cultivars of Zea mays. Twenty-one amino acids were detected in four different cultivars of Z. mays. The presence and quantity of amino acids varied greatly among cultivars. The cultivar Chodang contained all 21 amino acids and also had the highest total amount of amino acids, with values 3.68, 2.92 and 2.40 times higher than the total amino acid concentration in the cultivars Chalok, Jahuegchal and Huegma, respectively. Among amino acids, the level of asparagine and alanine were much higher irrespective of cultivar and were found at the highest level in Chodang. In all cultivars, glutamate, serine, g-amino butyric acid and lysine were found in moderate quantities, but were highest in Chodang. The quantity of glutamine, threonine, tyrosine and valine were much higher in the Chodang cultivar, which had 8.0, 8.6, 2.5 and 5.8 times higher concentrations of these amino acids, respectively than the Chalok cultivar, which had the lowest content. Levels of histidine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, norvaline, tryptophan and phenylalanine were low, irrespective of cultivar. However, Chodang contained the highest level of these amino acids. The cultivar Jahuegchal contained 1.8, 1.7 and 1.2 times higher levels of glycine than that of Chalok, Huegma and Chodang, respectively. Although Chalok contained the lowest total amount of amino acids and the levels of most amino acids were the lowest, this cultivar contained the highest level of aspartate, which was 1.4, 1.3 and 1.2 times higher than that in the Huegma, Chodang and Jahuegchal cultivars, respectively. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that Korean Z. mays cultivars contain variable quantities of amino acids, with the Chodang cultivar showing the greatest potential to serve as a marketable source of amino acids.