Nutritional and FTIR Profiling of Moroccan Faba Bean Elite Lines Grown under Arid Conditions

Abstract

Faba bean plays a pivotal role in global nutrition and sustainable agriculture. We evaluated 20 elite lines and five varieties grown during the 2021-2022 dry season. Our investigation encompassed protein content and mineral composition as well as FTIR fingerprints. The evaluated genotypes exhibited significant differences in both protein and mineral contents, except for manganese (p= 0.148).  The variety 'Lobab' (20) and the elite lines 15, 1, 16, 10, and 7 showcased good nutritional resilience, surpassing the 20% protein threshold. Genotype 22 exhibited the highest iron (14.650 ppm) and zinc (26.800 ppm) content, while 'Yasmine' (23) showed the highest magnesium (744.750 ppm) and calcium (231.725 ppm) levels. Genotype 1213 displayed the highest manganese (11.500 ppm) and copper (10.450 ppm) concentrations. Principal Component Analysis identified genotypes 22, 'Lobab', and 'Yasmine' as nutritionally interesting. FTIR-ATR spectroscopy revealed biochemical variations among genotypes, with elite lines 6 and 11 consistently showing higher concentrations of phenyl compounds, polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. Hierarchical cluster analysis of FTIR data identified three distinct clusters, with genotype 11 forming a unique single-member cluster.

High-protein lines, particularly genotypes 1, 16, and 22, demonstrate nutritional resilience under drought stress, making them promising candidates for registration and dissemination, given their reported high yield potential in a previous study. Future research should include trials under both drought-stressed and optimal conditions, as well as controlled environment studies, to precisely quantify drought impacts on nutritional and biochemical parameters.