Correlation Between Antioxidation and the Content of Total Phenolics and Anthocyanin in Black Soybean Accessions

The objective of this study was to investigate the correlations between antioxidations and the contents of the total phenolics and anthocyanin in 127 accessions of black soybean. A T-test, a fast clustering procedure, and a correlation coefficient analysis were used for experimentation. The variation ranges of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), the total phenolics, and anthocyanin contents in 127 black soybean accessions were 0.44–3.56, 7.05–74.82, and 0.22–1.87 mg g−1, respectively, displaying significant genotype differences. The major differences in TAC, the total phenolics. and the anthocyanin contents existed among various types of accessions from geographical regions. The differences between the accessions from black and yellow soybeans, spring and autumn, summer and autumn, Dongbeichun and Nanfangchun, Dongbeichun and Nanfangxia, Beifangchun and Nanfangchun, and Beifangchun and Nanfangxia were significant at 0.01 or 0.05 levels, respectively. The general tendency was that the TAC, the total phenolics, and the anthocyanin contents of Beifangchun accessions were higher than that of Dongbeichun ones, while that of Nanfangchun accessions were the worst. 127 black soybean accessions could be clustered into 6 clusters, which consisted of 3, 24, 20, 31, 37, and 12 accessions, respectively. The most significant (P<0.01) correlations existed respectively between the TAC and the total phenolics content, and the TAC and the anthocyanin content of black soybean. The results showed that the total phenolics and anthocyanin in black soybean seed coat were the important antioxidation substances.