Abstract

Lablab [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet], a relatively unknown crop in the United States of America, is understood to be adapted to Southern USA. Even though, previous studies conducted in Virginia have indicated that Lablab can be produced in Virginia as a forage crop, composition of lablab seed produced in Virginia is unknown. To alleviate this limitation, seeds of seventeen lablab lines from a replicated field study, that was conducted for two years, were analyzed for concentrations of fatty acids and sugars. Results indicated that genotypes had mostly significant effects on concentrations of fatty acids and sugars. Prominent fatty acids in lablab seeds, grown in Virginia (USA), were linoleic (53.5%), palmitic (15.8%), and linolenic (14.1%). Mean saturated and total unsaturated fatty acids in lablab seeds were 22.2 and 77.6%, respectively. Mean concentrations of sucrose, fructose, and glucose concentrations in lablab seed were 1.45, 0.42, and 0.78 g per 100 g meal. Mean concentrations of total non-nutritive sugars (Raffinose+Stachyose+Verbascose) in lablab seed were 4.96 g per 100 g meal. Correlations between several nutritional quality traits in lablab seed were observed to be significant. A comparison of nutritional quality of lablab seed with literature values of black bean, navy bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, and pea indicated that lablab has potential as a new food legume for United States of America.

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