Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are an economically important crop widely cultivated worldwide and play a crucial role in food security. Global potato production stands at approximately 383 million tons, ranking seventh among crops and livestock produ...
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are an economically important crop widely cultivated worldwide and play a crucial role in food security. Global potato production stands at approximately 383 million tons, ranking seventh among crops and livestock products. In 2023, South Korea's potato production reached 544 kilotons, making it the second most produced crop after rice. Potatoes exhibit excellent productivity relative to their cultivation area and possess high nutritional value. According to previous studies, it contains vitamin C and B- complex, as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Colored potato tubers are also reported to contain bioactive compounds like carotenoids, anthocyanins, and flavonoids. The globalization of the agricultural market has expanded market size through increased international trade, leading to a higher value placed on country-of- origin labeling. However, as cases of mislabeling increased, innocent farmers suffered harm, making it necessary to establish a method for accurately verifying the origin of agricultural products. This study cultivated two potato cultivars (Geumseon and Eunseon) across four different regions (Gangneung, Buan, Boseong, Daegwallyeong), analyzed their stable isotope ratios (SIRs) and water-soluble vitamin contents, compared them by region and variety, and establish potato origin discrimination models. As a result, SIRs and water-soluble vitamin content showed statistically significant differences depending on the region (p < 0.05), confirming that they are significantly influenced by the cultivation region. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) models constructed based on the analysis results demonstrated overall accuracies of 95.8%–100% in cross-validation testing using the leave-one-out method. The SIR-based LDA model demonstrated an accuracy of 95.8% through external validation using unknown potatoes. SIRs and water-soluble vitamins were confirmed to be markers that can be effectively utilized in potato origin discrimination models, either independently or in combination. This study contributes to understanding variations in SIRs and vitamins in tubers from different cultivation regions and cultivars and offers insights into the accurate geographical origin discrimination of potatoes.