Isotope Fingerprints of Common and Tartary Buckwheat Grains and Milling Fractions: A Preliminary Study

Lovro Sinkovič; Nives Ogrinc; Doris Potočnik; Vladimir Meglič

doi:10.3390/foods11101414

Isotope Fingerprints of Common and Tartary Buckwheat Grains and Milling Fractions: A Preliminary Study

Foods. 2022 May 13;11(10):1414. doi: 10.3390/foods11101414.

Authors

Lovro Sinkovič¹, Nives Ogrinc^{2

3}, Doris Potočnik², Vladimir Meglič¹

Affiliations

¹ Crop Science Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetocva Ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
² Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
³ Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova Cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Abstract

The grains and milling fractions of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn.) are widely used for both industrial and small-scale food and non-food products. This paper represents a preliminary study of the isotopic signature (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S) to differentiate between buckwheat species (common vs. Tartary), organic and conventional cultivation farming, and different buckwheat fractions (light flour, semolina, and hulls) obtained by a traditional cereal stone-mill. Stable isotope ratios were analyzed using an elemental analyzer coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA/IRMS). The results indicated that δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S values could be used to verify the origin and production practices of buckwheat and even its products.

Keywords: Fagopyrum; conventional; hulls; isotopic signature; light flour; organic; semolina.

Abstract

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