'Plant Breeding: Sustaining the Future' Abstracts of the XVIth EUCARPIA Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, 10-14 September 2001 CHANGES IN INOSITOL PHOSPHATES DURING GERMINATION OF TWO FABABEAN VARIETIES C. GOYOAGA, M.M. PEDROSA, C. CUADRADO, E. GUILLAMON, P. ALTARES, M. MUZQUIZ, C. BURBANO SGIT-INIA, Dpto. Technologia de Alimentos, Apdo 8111, 28080 Madrid, Spain

Phytic acid, myoinositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), is considered to be an antinutrient due to its ability to bind minerals, proteins and starch.  However, recent evidence indicates the IP6 has healthful effects.  Food processing can enhance the degradation of phytic acid through soaking, fermentation, or germination.  This work was aimed to examine the content and the distribution of IP6 and lower inositol phosphates by HPLC procedure in the cotyledon, embryo axis and testa of raw and germinated seeds of Vicia faba var. Alameda and var. Brocal. IP6 was the major inositol phosphate in cotyledon and axis of both varieties.  In cotyledon, total phytates content suffered a slight decrease, while embryo axis there was a marked decrease.  In testa, traces of inositol phosphates were found.