Comparative Metabolomic Analysis of Rapeseeds from Three Countries.

Ruinan Yang,Qi Zhang,Xiupin Wang,Jin Mao,Liangxiao Zhang,Wen Zhang,Xiaofeng Yue,Fei Ma,Peiwu Li,Ligang Deng

doi:10.3390/metabo9080161

Abstract

Rapeseed is an important oilseed with proper fatty acid composition and abundant bioactive components. Canada and China are the two major rapeseed-producing countries all over the world. Meanwhile, Canada and Mongolia are major importers of rapeseed due to the great demand for rapeseed in China. To investigate the metabolites in rapeseeds from three countries, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS)-based metabolomics was employed to analyze rapeseeds from China, Canada, and Mongolia. As results, 67, 53, and 68 metabolites showed significant differences between Chinese and Canadian, Chinese and Mongolian, and Canadian and Mongolian rapeseeds, respectively. Differential metabolites were mainly distributed in the metabolic pathways including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, and ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis. Among the differential metabolites, contents of sinapate and sinapine were higher in Chinese rapeseeds, while the contents of brassicasterol, stigmasterol, and campestanol were higher in Canadian rapeseeds. These findings might provide insight into the metabolic characteristics of rapeseeds from three countries to guide processing and consumption of the products of rapeseed.

Highlights

Rapeseed (Brassica napus; Cruciferae) is an important oil crop in agriculture worldwide, and ranks the third largest source of vegetable oil all over the world [1,2,3]
UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was employed to investigate the metabolic profiles of rapeseeds from three countries
Based on mass spectra obtained from UPLC-Q-TOF/MS, qualitative analysis was conducted by matching to spectra in the public database

Summary

Introduction

Rapeseed (Brassica napus; Cruciferae) is an important oil crop in agriculture worldwide, and ranks the third largest source of vegetable oil all over the world [1,2,3]. Traditional rapeseed oil contains more than 40% erucic acid [4], which could pose a risk to human health when excessive amounts are consumed [5]. Traditional rapeseed has a higher concentration of glucosinolates, and their breakdown in products could induce iodine deficiency and are fatal to pigs [6]. High erucic and glucosinolate levels limit the use of rapeseed. With the development of breeding methods and production technology, rapeseed contains lower erucic acid and lower glucosinolate [5,7]. Rapeseed is widely planted in China, Canada, India, Northern Europe, and Australia based on its growth habit [8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion