Effect of intervarietal variation on mineral element concentrations in non-heading Chinese cabbage

Non-heading Chinese cabbage (NHCC), a globally important leafy vegetable, lacks comprehensive nutritional data across its various accessions. This study addressed this gap by quantifying eight essential mineral elements across sixteen NHCC accessions under uniform growing conditions. Results identified potassium (K) and iron (Fe) as the predominant macro- and micro-elements, respectively, with marked physiological partitioning: mobile elements (K, Na) accumulated in the leaf stalk, while others (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) were concentrated in the leaves. Inter-varietal variation significantly influenced mineral concentrations, evidenced by up to 6.3-fold differences in Cu and 4.2-fold in Fe across accessions. Multivariate analyses identified superior accessions, such as 'NHCC-084' and 'NHCC-070', characterised by higher mineral content and favourable K/Na ratios. These findings underscore the nutritional potential of specific NHCC varieties for biofortification strategies to address dietary deficiencies and enhance nutritional balance in global diets.