Minerals and trace elements in a collection of wheat landraces from the Canary Islands

Phosphorous, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Se were determined in eighteen wheat landraces from Canary Islands and a commercial cultivar. The mean values obtained were: P (2370 ± 333 mg/kg); Na (102 ± 52 mg/kg); K (4363 ± 386 mg/kg); Ca (351 ± 62 mg/kg); Mg (1163 ± 155 mg/kg); Fe (40.0 ± 5.5 mg/kg); Cu (2.68 ± 0.93 mg/kg); Zn (32.1 ± 2.9 mg/kg); Mn (22.1 ± 3.5 mg/kg); Se (67.7 ± 40.4 μg/kg). There were differences (P < 0.05) in the mineral and trace element between the analyzed cultivars, and between the species and subspecies of wheats. Therefore, the Triticum aestivum species had higher mean P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn concentrations, and a lower mean Se concentration, than Triticum turgidum species. The environment and agronomic practices could affect the genetic information of the seeds determining changes in the mineral and trace element composition. The wheat represents an excellent source of Mn (over 100% of recommended dietary intake, RDI), as well as P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Se (20–50% of RDI). Many correlations were found between the parameters analyzed emphasizing the Cu–Mg (r = 0.691) and Cu–Mn (r = 0.619) correlations. Linear discriminant analysis allowed a good differentiation of the wheat samples according to the cultivar (89.7% of wheat samples classified correctly).