Abstract
This study aimed to examine the accumulation of oil, fatty acids, sterols and tocopherols contents and compositions during fruit development on the new cultivar of Chia Oruro (Panam Cie, France) cultivated in France. This cultivar is the first released genotype in Europe and for cultivation in Europe. The experiment was conducted in 2017, in south-western France at the Regional centre for organic agriculture, at Auch (near Toulouse, South-West of France). Four samplings were made at 17, 24, 27 and 35 days after flowering (DAF). These dates of sampling correspond to stages 7–8 (fruit development and maturity) of BBCH scale. Oil content, fatty acid composition and sterols and tocopherols contents and profiles were determined. The highest levels of oil and tocopherols were reached at 27 DAF. In contrast, phytosterols content was highest at 17 DAF (726.2 mg/100 g of oil) and decreased after this date. β-sitosterol was the main sterol in chia seed (63.4 to 89.1% of total sterols, depending of stage of fruit development). γ-tocopherol represented more than 92% of the total tocopherols present in the seed. High levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (74.4 to 80% of total fatty acids) were observed in our study confirming those already reported in this species. High levels of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were reported at earlier stages and decreased gradually during fruit development. Polyunsaturated fatty acids followed an opposite trend. Their level was lowest at 17 DAF (74.4%) and increased gradually to reach their higher level at 35 DAF (80%). These results suggested clearly the interest to harvest and use of seed before entire maturity of the grain.
Highlights
Chia (Silvia hispanica L.), a Lamiaceae species, is an ancient Central American crop (Capitani et al, 2012) recently promoted as a functional food and known as source of omega3 and omega-6
The aim of this work is to study the accumulation of oil, fatty acids composition, sterols and tocopherols content and composition during seed filling and maturation of one cultivar of Chia released in France in France
The seeds were harvested before full maturation, the slight decrease of oil content observed at 35 days after flowering (DAF) could be, probably, due to respiration losses (Roche et al, 2016; Belo et al, 2018)
Summary
Chia (Silvia hispanica L.), a Lamiaceae species, is an ancient Central American crop (Capitani et al, 2012) recently promoted as a functional food and known as source of omega and omega-6. Chia oil contains high levels of tocopherols and sterols (Ciftçi et al, 2012) The proportions of these active compounds in chia seeds depend on several factors. In South America, from April to May, an increase in ambient temperature triggered a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in vegetative plant parts. Few studies have been already performed for Chia cultivation in Europe using some genotypes released in America (Bochicchio et al, 2015; Grimes et al, 2018; Karkanis et al, 2018). The aim of this work is to study the accumulation of oil, fatty acids composition, sterols and tocopherols content and composition during seed filling and maturation of one cultivar of Chia released in France in France
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