Analysis and Comprehensive Evaluation of Edible Parts of Different Geographical Provenances of Aspidopterys concava

In order to explore the nutrient composition and content of edible parts (leaves) of Aspidopterys concava (Wall.) A. Juss.) from different geographical provenances introduced to Nanning, and screen out geographical provenances with high nutritional value and suitable for promotion, the nutrients and chemical components in leaves of six provenances (Jingxi, Longzhou, Daxin, Chongzuo, Pingguo and Dahua) were measured in this study. The results of descriptive statistics, variance analysis, multiple comparison, correlation analysis, principal component analysis and cluster analysis of each index showed that there were significant differences (P < 0.01) in the content of all kinds of nutrients and chemical components among the 6 A. concava provenances, which were related to geographical location and climatic factors. There were 7 kinds of essential amino acids and 9 kinds of non-essential amino acids in leaves of all provenances, among which Jingxi and Dahua had the highest amino acid contents. Correlation analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between the contents of most nutrients and chemical components, but there was a correlation between essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids, and the contents of taste amino acids and pharmacodynamic amino acids were mostly positively correlated. The results of principal component analysis showed that 4 principal components could be extracted from 24 indexes, and the cumulative contribution rate was 96.048%. Among all provenances, Jingxi provenance had the highest content of comprehensive nutrients, which was suitable for introduction and promotion in Nanning area, followed by Dahua provenance, and Longzhou provenance had the worst comprehensive nutrient contents. The 6 geographical provenances were divided into 3 categories by cluster analysis. The sugar content of Longzhou and Chongzuo is high; Daxin and Pingguo have high content of total flavonoids and cellulose. Jingxi and Dahua showed the best overall performance, and medicinal ingredients content were high, so it was not recommended to eat directly, and could be used as medicinal germplasm resources.