Abstract

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) is an important pseudocereal crop known for its nutritional and phytochemical richness. The present study was conducted to evaluate the variation in phytochemical constituents and antioxidant enzyme activities among buckwheat seed samples collected from four locations in Haryana, namely Hisar (BWH), Bhiwani (BWB), Loharu (BWL) and Rohtak (BWR), during the Rabi season of 2023-2024. The collected seeds were grown under uniform pot conditions using a completely randomized design with three replications. Mature seeds were analysed for major phytochemical constituents, including flavonoids, alkaloids, carotenoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids and saponins. Antioxidant defence responses were assessed through superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities, while lipid peroxidation was estimated through malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Significant variations were observed among the four locations for most biochemical parameters. BWL exhibited the highest flavonoid (7.54mg QE g?¹ DW), alkaloid (3.28mg g?¹ DW), tannin (2.74mg g?¹ DW), terpenoid (4.14mg g?¹ DW) and saponin (4.74mg g?¹ DW) contents, whereas steroid content showed non-significant variation. Similarly, BWL recorded maximum SOD (36.80U mg?¹ protein), CAT (18.40U mg?¹ protein), POX (13.90U mg?¹ protein) and APX (5.14U mg?¹ protein) activities. In contrast, the lowest MDA content (4.56nmol g?¹ FW) was recorded in BWL. Correlation analysis further revealed strong positive associations between antioxidant enzymes and several phytochemical constituents, while MDA showed strong negative correlations with SOD, CAT and POX. Findings from this study showed biochemical diversity among buckwheat where BWL exhibiting comparatively higher phytochemical accumulation and antioxidant activity coupled with lower lipid peroxidation.