Blackeye peas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) are mainly used as a vegetable throughout the world, however they may contain significant concentrations of quercetin, myricetin, cyanidin, and delphinidin for potential use as a functional vegetable. Thirty-eight blackeye pea genotypes were selected from the core collection in the USDA, ARS, Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit's cold storage at 4 °C during 2016. Information regarding concentrations of quercetin, myricetin, cyanidin, delphindin, and correlations among these as well as additional seed traits including seed coat color, seed pattern color, seed pattern, seed texture, and years in storage would add value to the blackeye pea genotypes for use as a functional vegetable. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the red seeded accession originating from Mozambique, PI 367927 produced the highest quercetin (469.53 µg/g) and myricetin (212.23 µg/g) concentrations. The black seeded genotype, PI 353236, originating from India, produced the highest cyanidin (1,388.82 µg/g) concentration. However, PI 353236 and the brown seeded genotype, PI 353352 from India produced the highest concentrations of delphinidin (1,343.27 and 1,353.94 µg/g), respectively. Several correlations were observed and interestingly only delphinidin showed a significant negative correlation (r = -0.293*) with years in cold storage indicating that delphinidin declined in the seeds stored the longest (from 4-45 years) at 4 °C. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained how the flavonols, anthocyanidins, and the additional seed traits contributed to the variation of the blackeye pea genotypes. The cluster analysis showed six clusters representing low to high phytochemical concentrations. The genetic parameters including σ2g, σ2p, GCV, PCV, h2h, and GG indicate that improvement in these phytochemical traits is possible through selection. The genotypic and phenotypic correlations showed that improving one phytochemical significantly improved the other except for cyanidin with delphinidin. These results can be used by scientists to develop blackeye pea cultivars with high flavonol and anthocyanidin concentrations.
Keywords: Blackeye pea; cyanidin; delphinidin; myricetin; quercetin; vegetable.