• Soybean germplasm evaluation: Nutritive grain quality under climate change conditions
• Genotypic selection of peas under climate change
• Innovative strategies for early stress detection and increasing maize tolerance to cold stress
• Legumes as a source of biologically active phytochemicals
• Breeding development of alfalfa and red clover germplasm adapted to climate changes
• Predictive modelling of agronomic traits in maize using modern technologies
• Assessment of quantitative traits in small grain cereals germplasm considering climate change
• The role of genetic specificity, plant growth regulators, and biostimulants in increasing the resistance to abiotic and biotic stress, yield, and quality of sour cherry fruit
• The influence of climate changes on the expression of the most important agronomic, physiological and biochemical traits of sunflower under conditions of different plant density
• Influence of combined abiotic stresses and climatic oscillations on production and quality of seed
• Water, soil and cultivar – fundamental elements of sustainable agriculture in climate change

Full project title

Legumes as a source of biologically active phytochemicals

Project acronym

LEGOFIT

Lead researcher

Daniela Horvat, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser

Project team members

1. Marija Viljevac Vuletić, PhD, Scientific Adviser, Agricultural Institute Osijek
2. Maja Matoša Kočar, PhD, Scientific Associate, Agricultural Institute Osijek
3. Ivana Flanjak, PhD, Full Professor, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek
4. Marko Josipović, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser, Agricultural Institute Osijek
5. Krešimir Dvojković, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser, Agricultural Institute Osijek
6. Marija Kovačević Babić, MSc, Professional Associate, Agricultural Institute Osijek

Project financing source

National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 within the framework of the Program Agreement with the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth

Project budget

44.620,00 EUR

Project summary

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), in addition to being rich in nutritionally valuable proteins and essential fatty acids, is also a source of biologically active phytochemicals that positively effect on human health. The main objectives of project are: 1. Determine the antioxidant potential of soybean cultivars through the analysis of different phytochemicals (total phenols, flavonoids, tannins, and carotenoids), and to determine the composition of dominant polyphenols (isoflavones, flavonoids, and phenolic acids). 2. Assess the level of variability between cultivars under three years of field experiments and 3. Identify superior cultivars interesting for potential application in functional food and nutritional supplements production, which would increase the competitiveness of soy producers in the Republic of Croatia. 4. Compare the antioxidant potential and polyphenolic profile of soybean grains with previously obtained results on forage legumes to give a broad picture of legumes as rich source of natural antioxidants. This integrative approach will result in the publication of peer-reviewed articles with a high impact factor and increasing the research competitiveness of Institute through the establishment of a research platform.

Project aims

The main hypothesis of the LEGOFIT project is that the variability of legumes bioactive phytochemicals composition can be used to identify superior cultivars as a source and/or choice in the production of the functional food and/or nutritional supplements.