Comparative Analysis of Nutritional Composition Between GM and Non-GM Soybeans and Soybean Oils by NMR and GC-FID Techniques

The differences in nutrition and health benefit between genetically modified (GM) and non-genetically modified (NG) foods have been attracting many concerns from the public and scientific fields. The combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatographic (GC) techniques provides feasible strategy for understanding and identifying the alterations in food composition. In this study, it has been applied to compare the nutritional composition of the GM and NG soybean and soybean oils to fully understand whether they should be treated equally without discrimination in the daily consumption. Eight kinds of GM and 8 kinds of NG soybeans and 28 kinds of GM and 30 kinds of NG soybean oils were detected by NMR and GC-FID techniques, respectively, and comparatively analyzed by the univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. The overall compositions of the NG and GM soybeans and soybean oils are quite similar; however, some minor component differences were also observed between the NG and GM ones. The NG soybeans bear the richer isoflavones and saccharides than the GM ones while the GM soybeans have the richer unsaturated fatty acids than the NG ones. The results derived from the two techniques could be mutually validated, and thus their combination will become an effective and accurate approach for evaluating the composition of the soybeans and edible oils. Our results will help to establish the quality parameters of the soybeans and soybean oils, and further serve to quality identification and quality control of foods.