Plant material

The species chosen for the study represent 7 cultivars (cv.) or wild ecotypes (WE) of legumes from the genera clover, medick, sainfoin and milkvetch (Table 1).

The list of germplasm collection of the perennial legumes spp. studied for nutritional, mineral composition and phytoestrogens

WE Wild ecotype, cv cultivar

The germplasm collection was established in a field trial in 2014 in the Central Lowland of Lithuania (55°23′49″N; 23°51′40″E), at the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. The seeds of the species were sown in one row (2.5 m long and 0.5 m apart) in 4 replications. No herbicides were applied in the collection nursery.

For chemical analyses, plant samples were collected at branching stage. The samples were washed thoroughly with tap water, rinsed with distilled water and blotted on filter paper. Then they were freeze-dried and ground to pass a 1-mm screen. The samples were processed on the same day they were harvested.