Evolution of soluble carbohydrates during the development of pea, faba bean and lupin seeds

Seeds of pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Ergo), faba bean (Vicia faba ssp. minor Hart., cv. Tibo) and yellow pea lupin (Lupinus luteus L. cv. June) were sampled at different days after flowering (DAF) and their content of soluble carbohydrates was determined. Analysis of samples showed that myo-inositol, fructose, glucose, galactose and sucrose were found in high abundance early in development and their content decreased gradually during maturation. alpha-Galactosides, which includes the content of raffinose, stachyose and verbascose, started to appear later in seed development, at 37 DAF in peas, 40 DAF in faba beans and 45 DAF in lupins. Their accumulation increased considerably during seed growth, and the maximum content was obtained in mature seeds; 3.8% in peas, 4.5% in faba beans and 10.4% in lupins. Results obtained for these sugars during seed development were fitted to modelling curves in order to predict sugar content at different development stages.