Mineral contents in the roots of blue and white flowered platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A. D.C. from China and Korea

Abstract

In this paper, we described the mineral contents of 11 different accessions of balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorum) collected from China and Korea. The roots of balloon flower plants with blue flowers had greater concentrations of five important minerals-Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn than did the roots of plants with white flowers. In most cases, the concentration of minerals in the roots of plants with blue flowers was nearly twice that of plants with white flowers. Concentrations of Ca and Mg were much higher than concentrations of the other minerals assayed in the roots of all plants, regardless of flower colour. Accession CB02 had blue flowers and its roots contained the highest levels of Ca, Mn and Zn. Accessions CB01 and CB05, which also had blue flowers, had roots with the highest amounts of Mg and Fe, respectively. Among the accessions, CB02, might suitable to use commercially as its mineral content was much higher than that of any other tested accession.