Geographical and genetic insights into riboflavin and its derivatives compositions in 1186 soybean accessions

Vitamin B₂, comprising riboflavin, flavin mononucleotide (FMN), and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are essential micronutrient and plays a vital role in human health. Despite the nutritional value of soybean, its vitamin B2 profile remains beyond the realm of research lens. However, this study was designed to bridge this gap by optimizing a rapid, cost-effective UPLC-FLD method for simultaneous extraction and quantification of these compounds. The vitamin B2 compositions were assessed in 1186 soybean accessions, comprising landraces and cultivars obtained from different ecoregions of China across two years. The total vitamin B2 content varied 2.2-fold, ranging from 158.46 to 357.58 mu g/100 g FW, with the highest mean from the southern region. FAD was the dominant derivative, contributing over 42 % to total vitamin B2. Correlation analysis depicted a strong positive association between individual vitamin B2 and nutritional traits like isoflavone and polyunsaturated fatty acid. These findings provide foundational insights for soybean biofortification strategies to combat global vitamin B2 deficiency dilemma.