The ‘Minihyang’ mandarin is a new hybrid of ‘Kinokuni’בPonkan’ bred at the Citrus Research Institute, National Horticultural and Herbal Science, Korea. It has a small fruit size (30-40 g) and a high sugar content (12-14°Brix). Herein, a chemical characterization of ‘Minihyang’ was conducted. Free sugar, which determines sweetness, is a key component of food taste. Analysis of free sugar showed that the most abundant component was sucrose (8.81±0.45 g/100 g), followed by glucose (1.23±0.11 g/100 g), and fructose (1.23±0.08 g/100 g). Among the 20 free amino acids analyzed, arginine and asparagine accounted for 71% of the total amino acid content, displaying both amino acids at the highest content of 77.14 mg/100 g. The major flavonoids in citrus fruits differ between varieties, showing the differences among cultivars. The flavonoid contents of ‘Minihyang’ were higher in the peel than in the flesh, and hesperidin was identified as the major flavonoid, with 1,133.7 and 689.8 mg/100 g extracted from the peel and flesh, respectively. Furthermore, nobiletin and tangeretin, which are only present in citrus species, were identified in the peel. Volatile component analysis revealed that limonene content, a characteristic component of citrus fruits, was highest in the flesh of ‘Minihyang,’ accounting for approximately 75-80% of all volatile compounds. Notably, the order was fresh limonene>terpinene>terpinolene. Overall, this study revealed many functional compounds in the ‘Minihyang’ mandarin hybrid.

‘Heukchan’ (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a medium-sized grain and black-skin peanut variety that was developed at the Department of Southern Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science in 2019. ‘Heukchan’ was developed from a single cross between black-skin accession ‘Heukhwasaeng’ and Virginia-type elite line ‘HP825’. ‘Heukchan’ has short ellipse-shaped grains and a dark-purple seed coat. It also has a shorter main stem and branch length (39 cm and 44 cm, respectively) than those of ‘Daekwang’ (50 cm and 61 cm, respectively) which resulted in higher tolerance to lodging. On average, the number of matured pods per plant of ‘Heukchan’ was 61 and its shelling ratio was 74%. The 100-seed weight of ‘Heukchan’ was 64 g which was lower than that of ‘Daekwang’ (85 g). In the regional adaptation test (from 2017 to 2019), the average grain yield of ‘Heukchan’ was 4.56 tons⋅ha^-1 showing a 5% higher yield than ‘Daekwang’. The seed coat of ‘Heukchan’ contains two types of anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-sophoroside and cyanidin 3-sambubioside, which are not found in ‘Daekwang’. We analyzed the chemical properties of cooked rice containing ‘Heukchan’ with an increasing substitution ratio (5, 10, 20, and 40%); minerals and antioxidative activity as well as protein and unsaturated fatty acids were found to be significantly increased in the rice mixed with ‘Heukchan’. This new variety highlights the novel use of black-skin peanuts for mixing with rice to enhance nutrition and functionality (Registration No. 9195).

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) is a major legume crop with a high protein and carbohydrate content. Mungbean sprouts have higher levels of bioactive phenolic compounds than mungbean seeds. In this study, the physical and biochemical characteristics of mungbean sprouts were investigated at the tissue level (cotyledon, hypocotyl, root, and seed coat) using three cultivars (Dahyeon, Samgang, and Sunhwa). Sunhwa was found to have longer hypocotyl, root, and cotyledon lengths and more bioactive compounds (phenols and flavonoids), leading to a higher antioxidant capacity compared to the other cultivars. Among the three cultivars, the hypocotyl had the highest antioxidant activity and bioactive compound content. The flavonoid content of the seed coat was as high as those of the cotyledon and root tissues. Although Dahyeon and Samgang mungbean sprouts are more suitable for consumption based on consumers’ preference for physical traits, they had lower antioxidant capacities than Sunhwa. The results of this study indicate that mungbean cultivars that are consumed as sprouts need to be developed to improve food quality for consumers’ needs.

In ornamental crops, the color and shape of flowers are one of the important traits. Generally, flower colors are determined by accumulating pigments such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and betalains. Among them, flavonoids are responsible for broad ranges of colors. Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular ornamental crops in the world, and there have been many efforts to change their flower color. In chrysanthemum flowers, cyanidin-based anthocyanin confers pink or red color, whereas terpenoid-based carotenoids are mainly responsible for yellow and green colors. However, blue colored chrysanthemums do not occur in nature. To date, there have been attempts to obtain blue or violet-colored chrysanthemum flowers through the introduction of a novel gene for accumulating delphinidin-based anthocyanins, while other studies have reported changing endogenous metabolites through the reconstruction of flavonoid biosynthesis. Since various transcription factors are involved in the regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis, it is important to understand not only the structural genes, but also the transcription factors required for the modification of flavonoid-based flower color. Therefore, in this paper, we describe the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway and its regulation, and review previous studies on the change in flower color through modification of flavonoid biosynthesis. This effort could be an important milestone in successfully achieving the modification of chrysanthemum flower color by means of plant biotechnology.