The total contents and qualitative compositions of alkaloids in seeds of 10 Old World lupin species (73 accessions) were surveyed using gas chromatography. The obtained results, combined with those for three lupin crops, Lupinus angustifolius, Lupinus albus, and Lupinus luteus, provide the most complete and up-to-date overview of alkaloid profiles of 13 lupin species originating from the Mediterranean Basin. The qualitative alkaloid compositions served as useful supplementary tools of species discrimination. On the basis of the most abundant major alkaloids, lupanine, lupinine, and multiflorine, the Old World lupin species were divided into four groups. Those containing lupanine (L. angustifolius, L. albus, and Lupinus mariae-josephi), containing lupinine (Lupinus luteus, Lupinus hispanicus, and Lupinus × hispanicoluteus), containing lupinine and multiflorine (Lupinus atlanticus, Lupinus palaestinus, Lupinus anatolicus, Lupinus digitatus, Lupinus pilosus, and Lupinus cosentinii), and containing multiflorine (Lupinus micranthus). Within a given group, certain species can be, in most cases, further distinguished by the presence of other major alkaloids. The discrimination of species based on the total alkaloid content was found to be less reliable because of the significant intra-species variations, as well as the influences of environmental factors on the seed alkaloid content.
Keywords: Lupinus; Old World lupins; alkaloid profiles; gas chromatography; species discrimination; valorization of genetic resources.