Starch and mineral element accumulation during root tuber expansion period of Pueraria thomsonii Benth.

Pueraria is a medicine plant with rich starch, and thus can be a potential agricultural and industrial resource. In this study, we evaluated the root tuber yield of a cultivar of starch kudzu (Pueraria thomsonii) and the starch accumulation during expansion period of root tuber. Additionally, mineral elements were quantified in root tuber and starch. The results indicated that the starch kudzu cultivar owned high yield of root tuber (greater than42 tons/hm), high starch content (greater than17% FW) in root tuber, and rich accumulation of beneficial mineral elements. Interestingly, the root tuber of P. thomsonii contained a high concentration of selenium (70 mg/kg FW) and strontium (40 mg/kg FW), and thus it can be utilized as a Se and Sr rich food. Furthermore, Se and Sr can be well preserved in starch through the optimized starch extraction method.