Abstract
Castor bean is found in Chile between the Arica and Parinacota and Maule regions and is one the most important industrial crops worldwide because of the presence of ricinoleic acid in its oil. However, there is little information about it in our country. In this study, we analyzed the oil content and fatty acid profiles of 17 castor bean Chilean accessions from the Metropolitana and Valparaíso regions. The seed-oil was extracted using the Soxhlet extraction process, and the fatty acid profiles were determined using the GC-FID method. The oil content in castor bean Chilean accessions ranged between 45.7% and 54.0%. Among the 17 accessions analyzed, H-15 had the highest oil content (54.0%; p < 0.05), whereas the H-10 and H-08 accessions had the lowest oil content, (45.7% and 45.9%, respectively; p < 0.05). Ricinoleic acid was the most abundant fatty acid (between 87.64% and 89.83%) in the seed-oil. The highest level of ricinoleic acid was found in the H-08 accession. This was only statistically higher (p < 0.05) for three accessions, whereas the H-04 accession had the lowest ricinoleic acid content. Although the H-08 accession registered one of the least abundant oil contents, it had the highest amount of ricinoleic acid. No significant correlation was found between oil content and ricinoleic acid. Our study suggests that oil content does not influence the castor oil fatty profile. The high oil content and ricinoleic acid level registered in castor bean Chilean accessions justify their production in Chile and their utilization for developing bio-based products. Furthermore, Chilean castor bean could grow in semi-arid lands. However, further field studies are needed to identify the cultivars best suited for Mediterranean conditions.
Highlights
Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is one the most important industrial crops in the world due to the commercial importance of its oil [1]
The maximum castor oil content was registered for the H-15 accession (54.0%), whereas H-10 (45.7%)
Ricinoleic acid (C18:1-OH) content in Chilean castor accessions was in the range of 87.6% to 89.8%, in H-04 and H-08 accessions, respectively
Summary
Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is one the most important industrial crops in the world due to the commercial importance of its oil [1]. Castor bean has been introduced and adapted to the varying climatic conditions in many countries, including Chile, where it is wildly growing [4,5]. In Chile, the castor bean is found between the Arica and Parinacota and Maule regions (unpublished), growing under arid and semi-arid conditions and in Mediterranean climates. Those areas normally receive an annual average rainfall lower than 400 mm that is concentrated during the winter season, and in some areas the rainfall is even below 50 mm. The annual average temperature is lower than 20 ◦ C [6] These naturalized castor beans have shown high adaptability to Chilean climatic conditions. There is little information regarding the use, adaptation, and characterization of castor bean and castor oil in Chile [4,5]
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