The objective of this study was to determine the role of storing years with the variation of total phenol and individual phenolic compounds in soybean (Glycine max L.) seeds. The total phenol content varied from 0.36 to 0.42% over four years, with the highest value (0.42%) found at storage for two and three years. Among the nine soybean varieties examined, Daweonkong had the highest total average phenol content (0.58%). The total content of 11 phenolics varied from 730.0 to 1812.8 ~mu~textrmg~;~textrmg-1 over storage for four years, and the highest concentration (1812.8 ~mu~textrmg~;~textrmg-1 ) was found at storage for two years. Myeongjunamulkong (1465.4 ~mu~textrmg~;~textrmg-1 ) had the highest mean content among the nine soybean varieties. The total content of 11 phenolic compounds measured in this study occupied from 20.96 to 47.73% of the total phenol contents. The highest total phenol contents were in seeds with black coats (5279.4 ~mu~textrmg~;~textrmg-1 ), while the highest concentration of individual phenolic compounds were in seeds with green coats (1419.5 ~mu~textrmg~;~textrmg-1 ). Our study suggests that it may be feasible to improve soybean varieties with high functional substances such as phenolic compounds.

• Seung Hyun Kim
• Hong Keun Song
• Joung Kuk Ahn
• Jung Tae Kim
• Joon Sang Hahn
• Ill Min Chung