Quality Evaluation of Asparagus officinalis by Profile of Amino Acids and Mineral Elements in Different Parts Combined with Chemometrics Methods

Asparagus officinalis has a homologous value in medicine and vegetables. Its immature stem, commonly called asparagus, is a central edible part. Asparagus skin and leaf also contain rich nutrients. However, these parts are often discarded. This study investigated amino acid and mineral elements in immature stem, skinless asparagus, asparagus skin, and leaf. Their quality was further evaluated by chemometrics methods such as principal component analysis and neural network analysis. The results showed amino acid content was high in immature stem and skinless asparagus and low in leaf, whereas the mineral elements were in four parts. Quality evaluation results showed four parts were divided into three grades. Immature stem and skinless asparagus were grouped into cluster 1 with the best quality as high-quality raw materials in food and health-care products. Meanwhile, three AA (Cys, His, Arg) and two mineral elements (Na, Cr) were identified as quality evaluation iconic substances.