Summary: | Agricultural research has traditionally focused on staple crops, while relatively little attention has been given to minor crops. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the nutrient contents and some anti-nutritional factors in the seeds of common vetch (<i>Vicia sativa</i> L.) and the variation of phenotypic and morphological traits in field studies of 44 European accessions, originating from Russia, Ukraine, Poland (east and east-central Europe), the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary (south-central Europe), and Germany (west-central Europe) and grown in the same soil-climate conditions. A three-year field study was conducted from 2010 to 2012. Accessions originating from west-central Europe flowered three days earlier than those from south-central Europe. They also had the lowest seed number per pod (5.9) but the highest thousand seed weight (58 g) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Vetch lines coming from south-central Europe contained the highest level of crude protein in comparison with vetch seeds originating from west-central Europe (353 vs. 324 g kg<sup>−1</sup>, respectively) (<i>p</i> < 0.05), but the latter had the highest essential amino acid index value (75 vs. 71 in west-central Europe and south-central Europe, respectively) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The highest protein level was noted in the seeds of Slovak origin (average 358 g kg<sup>−1</sup>), whereas the lowest protein level (324 g kg<sup>−1</sup>) was determined in the Russian and German lines. Vetch grain fat was rich in linoleic (53%) and linolenic (14%) acids. The best n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio (4) and the highest α-linolenic acid level were exhibited by the Slovak and Polish accessions (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The seeds of vetch accessions from east, east-central, and south-central Europe contained higher levels of (<i>p</i> < 0.05) iron than those originating from west-central Europe. The concentration of tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and hydrogen cyanide reached on average 8, 3, and 81 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. The highest hydrogen cyanide (HCN) levels was determined in the accessions of German and Russian origin (126 and 119 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>, respectively), and the lowest values were noted in the Slovak and Polish lines (50 and 67 mg HCN kg<sup>−1</sup>, respectively). Furthermore, the Polish accessions contained the lowest levels of tannins and trypsin inhibitors. Common vetch seeds may be valuable protein feed/food stuff, but their nutritional usefulness is limited by the presence of anti-nutritional factors, especially HCN, which is difficult to remove. Further selection in this direction may be postulated.
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