Flavor‐Related Precursors and Other Compounds in Raw Organic Dry Pea ( Pisum sativum L.) for Plant Breeding

Dry pea ( Pisum sativum L.) is a cold‐season food legume widely used as a source of plant‐based protein. Improving flavor‐related traits through conventional plant breeding, rather than food additives, is vital to creating desired outcomes for consumers. This study aimed to identify precursor molecules associated with flavors in organically grown dry pea. The experiment was conducted with 44 genotypes (25 dry pea cultivars and 19 dry pea breeding lines) in a randomized complete block design in two locations with two replicates per location ( n = 176). Unsaturated fatty acid esters, organic acids, terpenoids, and phytosterols were identified. Among unsaturated fatty acid esters, linoleic acid esters had the highest concentration (1518.52 ± 59.4 mg/100 g) while linolenic acid esters had the lowest (295.58 ± 9.20 mg/100 g). Citric acid (27.58 ± 2.60 mg/100 g) was the most abundant organic acid in dry pea. Concentrations of phytosterols (γ‐sitosterol: 4.25 ± 0.06 mg/100 g and stigmasterol: 1.07 ± 0.004 mg/100 g) were higher than those of terpenoids (β‐amyrin: 0.65 ± 0.011 mg/100 g and γ‐tocopherol: 0.56 ± 0.01 mg/100 g). Of the identified traits, tartaric acid, citric acid, β‐amyrin and γ‐sitosterol demonstrated significant genotype effects at p < 0.05 and p < 0.001. The remainder of the traits evaluated did not significantly vary with genotype, environment, or genotype by environment effects. Identification of these flavor‐related precursors provides foundational insights for targeted breeding approaches aimed at improving the flavor towards consumer acceptance of dry pea.