Biochemical peculiarities of Galega orientalis Lam. genotypes in Byelorussia

Galega orientalis Lam. is a fodder crop with a number of important traits, including the early beginning of vegetation, fast growth, high productivity and nutritiousness. For its cultivation, the doses of mineral N are reduced due to active symbiotic N-fixation, resulting in the decrease of nitrogen content in the fodder and livestock production. Lectins and proteinase inhibitors, as anti-nutrients, affect the fodder quality negatively. But the distribution and activity of proteolytic factors and lectins in Galega orientalis are not still clarified enough. We conducted the chemical investigation of leaves and seeds in 19 varieties and samples of Galega orientalis, originated mainly from the Eastern Europe. The activity of neutral and alkaline proteinases, tripsin inhibitors, lectin phytohemagglutination (PHA), as well as the protein content, composition and digestibility were examined. In total, the parameters varied significantly. The tested Galega varieties are the highly valuable fodder crop. Particularly, the content of proteins and essential amino acids in plants was high. The amino acid composition, necessary for the young growing animals, was revealed. In contrary, the content of tripsin inhibitors and lectins was not sufficient. The inhibitors were more active in the plants which began their vegetation later, and PHA was higher in the plants with early and intermediate beginning of vegetation. The characteristic electrophoretic patterns of seed proteins were also shown.