Abstract: In order to explore the differences of mineral elements content in the shoots of different cultivars of Chinese milk vetch and analyze the nutritional value of Chinese milk vetch,the shoots of Chinese milk vetch were collected at its branching stage. The contents of eight mineral elements of Ca,Mg,P,Fe,Cu,Zn,Mn,Se in the 10 cultivars of Chinese milk vetch were determined,then the principal component analysis and systematic clustering were combined to screen and evaluate those 10 cultivars for the most edibility. The results showed that the contents of mineral elements in the shoots of Chinese milk vetch from high to low were in a order of calcium (Ca) > Phosphorus (P) > Magnesium (Mg) > Iron (Fe) > Manganese (Mn) > Zinc (Zn) > Copper (Cu) > Selenium (Se). In general,there were differences of the mineral elements content in the shoots of different cultivars. According to the principal component analysis,and three comprehensive principal components (F₁,F₂ and F₃) were extracted to interpret the variation of the mineral elements in the shoots of the milk vetch. The three principal components could represent 81.60% of the original data of the mineral elements. Based on the comprehensive scores of mineral elements,the top 3 cultivars were pointed to 'Xiangzi No. 1’,'Minzi No. 7’ and 'Yijiangzi’ in order. The 10 cultivars were divided into four categories (A,B,C and D) by systematic clustering and comprehensive evaluation. The category A included 'Guizaozi No. 1’,'84(8)7-1-1’ and 'Guizaozi No. 7’ cultivars,which had a higher Ca content;the category B 'Ningbo Bridge’,'m83yiJ’,'Minzi No.7’ and 'Yijiangzi’ cultivars,which had a higher Cu content;the category C 'Xiangzi No. 4’ and 'B4000-2’ cultivars with a higher Fe content;the category D had only 'Xiangzi No.1’ cultivar with the highest score in comprehensive evaluation. 'Xiangzi no. 1’ cultivar was therefore selected as the best one of Chinese milk vetch as a vegetable. This experimental study also provided a theoretical guidance for the edible selection on and utilization of the shoots of Chinese milk vetch.

Key words: Chinese, milk, vetch, shoots；Mineral, elements；Principal, component, analysis；Comprehensive, assessment

摘要： 为探明不同紫云英(Astragalus sinicus L.)品种嫩梢矿质元素含量的差异，分析其菜用营养价值，本研究测定了10个不同紫云英品种的分枝期地上部嫩梢的8种矿质元素含量，同时，结合主成分分析法与系统聚类法筛选了适宜菜用的品种。结果表明紫云英嫩梢中矿质元素含量由高到低为钙(Ca)>磷(P)>镁(Mg)>铁(Fe)>锰(Mn)>锌(Zn)>铜(Cu)>硒(Se)；矿质元素含量综合得分排名前3的品种分别为'湘紫1号’、'闽紫7号’和'弋江籽’；将10个紫云英品种聚为四类(A，B，C，D)，其中A,B,C类分别以高Ca，Fe及Cu含量为特征，D类为'湘紫1号’，其矿质元素含量均较高，综合评价最高。因此，紫云英种质间嫩梢矿质元素含量均有不同程度的差异，'湘紫1号’嫩梢矿质元素含量高，作为菜用综合品质高。

关键词: 紫云英嫩梢, 矿质元素, 主成分分析, 综合评价