Update:
• This project utilizes farmer submitted soybean samples (2020 crop) from USB project # #2130-252-0403-A. Incoming samples have now been analyzed.
• 200 samples have been selected for inclusion into this study. These samples were selected to provide a diversity of composition based on several measures and to represent the wide geographies and environments where US soybeans are produced.
• Selected samples have been pulled and re-inventoried.
• Next steps:
o After the holidays, sub-samples will be submitted to Erofins for proximate analysis
o Defatted meal will be returned to Dr Anor’s lab for full carbohydrate profiling
o We expect preliminary data to be available in April, 2020
• Notes:
o We have decided to make a small change to our protocol. This change will not affect the scope of this work and will not significantly alter the type of findings.
o Briefly, rather than analyzing hull and cotyledon/axis tissue separately for all samples, we have decided to analyze whole ground soybean. This will allow broader utility of this work, as hulls and cotyledons cannot be fully separated during processing or utilization. Future analytics will conducted on whole soybean, not the parts, and hull material is always included in soybean meal. For completeness, we will conduct a full characterization of hull and cotyledon separately on 20 representative samples.
Update:
• This project utilizes farmer submitted soybean samples (2020 crop) from USB project # #2130-252-0403-A. Incoming samples have now been analyzed.
• 200 samples have been selected for inclusion into this study. These samples were selected to provide a diversity of composition based on several measures and to represent the wide geographies and environments where US soybeans are produced.
• Selected samples were inventoried, sub-sampled and sent to Eurofins laboratory for proximate analysis
• Samples were sent to Dr. Anor’s lab for defatting and full carbohydrate profiling
o This step is in process today. Individual samples are in various stages of preparation and analysis.
• We expect preliminary results from this work to begin to show up in early April, with more complete profiles being available in early summer.
Update:
This project involves extensive laboratory analyses for a subset of 2020 USB survey samples from across the U.S. (USB project # #2130-252-0403-A). Samples will be evaluated for their -- total carbohydrates, total starch, available carbohydrates, amylose and amylopectin contents of their starches, in vitro starch hydrolysis kinetics (rapidly digestible starch, slowly digestible starch and resistant starch, monosaccharide composition, and arabinoxylan contents.
Soybean sample were delivered for their characterization in January 2021. The samples have since been milled and stored at refrigerated temperatures until they are analyzed to prevent deterioration.
Due to restrictions to access to labs at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the analysis of the samples was significantly impacted.
So far, approximately 60 samples have been analyzed for their monosaccharide composition pending the analysis of the HPLC chromatograms. A Masters student, Takehiro Murai has been assigned to this work and has been working on the samples from this summer. The Masters student will keep working on this project for his research.
We hope to finish screening the samples for the monosaccharide contents and starch screening them for their total starch and total carbohydrates in the coming weeks.
Update:
This project involves extensive laboratory analyses for a subset of 2020 USB survey samples from across the U.S. (USB project # #2130-252-0403-A). Samples will be evaluated for their -- total carbohydrates, total starch, available carbohydrates, amylose and amylopectin contents of their starches, in vitro starch hydrolysis kinetics (rapidly digestible starch, slowly digestible starch and resistant starch), monosaccharide composition, and arabinoxylan contents.
So far, approximately 60 samples have been analyzed for their monosaccharide composition pending the analysis of the HPLC chromatograms. We are currently conducting a second round of analyses to confirm and validate the first round.
We also conducted an initial screening for starch in soybean. We found so little starch that we do not plan to conduct starch assays on all 200 samples. We will reevaluate other options for this at a later date.
We have noted some interesting associations among soluble carbohydrates and growing location, protein, protein + oil, as well as among combinations of the seven sugars measured (glucose, fructose, sucrose, raffinose, stachyose, arabinose, and melibiose).
• 22 of the 40 samples with the highest % of glucose + fructose (reducing sugars) out of the sum of the 7 sugars measured [(gluc + fruc)/sum 7] x 100 are from the warmest, most southerly growing region - the Midsouth
• only 1 of the 40 samples with the lowest [(gluc + fruc)/sum 7] x 100 is from the Midsouth
• sucrose and [(gluc + fruc)/sum 7] x 100 r = -0.48
• protein and [(gluc + fruc)/sum 7] x 100 r = 0.36
• protein and sucrose r = -0.36
• protein + oil and sucrose r = -0.52
• protein + oil and [(gluc + fruc)/sum 7] x 100 r = 0.39
Challenges:
Due to COVID restrictions on lab activities for much of the year, this project has been delayed. We will not accomplish all that we have promised. We will have a significant portion of our funding left unspent, and USB will not be invoiced for this amount. Our final report will outline our full list of accomplishments and those that remain, as well as accounting of funds spent and unspent. Since this project has received a second year of funding, we plan to roll unfinished business into the next cycle. We hope that we are able to catch up in FY22.