Variety, time of harvest and conditions during growing season have impact on red clover isoflavone content

Authors

• Eeva Arja Mustonen Department of Production Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Mikko Tuori Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Päivi Kurki Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
• Mika Isolahti Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd., Finland
• Juhani Taponen Department of Production Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Aila Vanhatalo Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.69781

Keywords:

red clover, variety, isoflavone, daidzein, formononetin, equol

Abstract

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is the predominant legume used in northern European agriculture. Official red clover variety trials are conducted by Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) to determine the value of field crop varieties. The trials used for the current analysis were conducted in Luke units in southern Finland (Mikkeli) and northern Finland (Ruukki) in two consecutive years. Plant samples for isoflavone analyses were collected from four varieties grown as four replicates and harvested twice during both growing seasons. The four main isoflavones biochanin A, genistein, daidzein and formononetin were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography. Total phytoestrogen content in the varieties varied in the range of 11.2−14.8 mg g^-1 dry matter (DM). The variety and the time of harvest had most effect on the isoflavone, especially formononetin, contents of red clover. A more northern growing area and challenging weather conditions were associated with increased isoflavone concentrations.