Amino Acid Contents of Some Eggplant Species Grown in Different Region

Abstract

In this study, amino acid contents of eggplant samples grown in Turkey (dark and light coloured eggplant) and Nigeria (white garden egg, bitter apple and bitter tomato) were determined by HPLC. Amino acid amounts in eggplant samples ranged from 0.02 to 8.41 mg g-1 dw. The lowest amount was determined as leucine in dark tomato, while the highest amount was determined as lysine in white garden egg sample. The total amino acid amounts in the white garden egg, bitter apple, dark eggplant, light eggplant and bitter tomato samples were found to be 54.41±3.90, 44.04±3.46, 43.22±3.23, 33.37±2.58 and 59.91±4.44 mg g-1 dw. In addition, essential total amino acid contents were found to be 26.36±1.91, 23.30±1.82, 25.00±1.78, 19.31±1.44 and 27.21±2.03 mg g-1 dw, respectively. Lowest total essential amino acid content was found in light eggplant (19.31±1.44 mg g-1 dw) grown in Turkey, while the highest in bitter tomato sample (27.21±2.03 mg g-1 dw) grown in Nigeria. The differences observed in amino acid contents of eggplant varieties grown both in Turkey and Nigeria can be attributed to the differences in their genetic makeup and geographical origins and climate conditions.Keywords: Eggplant, essential amino acid, total amino acid, white garden egg, bitter apple, bitter tomato