Identification of metabolite profiles of local cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) from Southwest Maluku, Indonesia

Cowpea is considered an important food in the Southwest Maluku (SWM) District with high morphogenetic diversity. However, information on nutrition and metabolite profiles of the cowpea from SWM has been unrevealed for a new food ingredient for local people of SWM. The laboratory work was conducted descriptively to reveal the nutrient composition of the metabolite profile of some local cowpeas from SWM, Indonesia using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography -Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. Key chemical profiles of amino acids, fatty acids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and other secondary metabolites in cowpeas were analyzed using PCA. The results showed that there were fifteen amino acids, 35 fatty acids, and 52 secondary metabolites identified. The highest amino acid content found in all varieties was glutamic acid at 4.32 ± 0.31%. The highest fatty acid content was identified as arachidic acid at 15.83 ± 3.94%. The plant sterol identified in all varieties was stigmasterol with an average of 3.05 ± 0.43%. The KM7 variety had the highest amino acid in contrast to the KM6 variety. The highest stigmasterol, total flavonoids, and total phenolic content were found in the KM3 variety. These results reveal that local cowpeas have the potential for nutritional and functional food development.