Abstract
The seed oil content and the fatty acid composition of a germplasm collection of Brassica napus and Brassica rapa currently grown in Galicia (northwestern Spain) were evaluated in order to identify potentially interesting genotypes and to assess their suitability as oilseed crops for either edible or industrial purposes. The seeds of the B. rapa landraces had higher oil content (mean 47.3%) than those of B. napus (mean 42.8%). The landraces of both species showed a similar fatty acid profile (12% oleic acid, 13% linoleic acid, 8–9% linolenic acid, 8–9% eicosenoic acid, and 50–51% erucic acid). They were very high in erucic acid content, which is nutritionally undesirable in a vegetable oil, and very low in oleic and linoleic acid contents. Therefore, they could be used for industrial purposes but not as edible oil. The erucic acid content ranged from 42% to 54% of the total fatty acid composition with an average value of 50% in the B. napus landraces whereas in B. rapa, it ranged from 43% to 57%, with an average value of 51%. Considering the seed oil and the erucic acid content together, three varieties within the B. napus collection and two varieties within the B. rapa one seem to be the most promising genotypes for industrial purposes.
Highlights
Brassica oilseed crops have become the third most important source of edible vegetable oils in the world [1]
The Brassica rapa genotypes were significantly higher in oil content than the B. napus ones (Table 1)
This result agrees with Mandal et al [38], who found that seed oil content was higher in a collection of B. rapa than in a collection of B. napus
Summary
Brassica oilseed crops have become the third most important source of edible vegetable oils in the world [1]. Edible oils currently represent the largest market for Brassica oilseed crops, the prevalence of agricultural surpluses in many developed countries has focused attention toward the possible industrial use of Brassica seed oils. One of the most important objectives in Brassica breeding is the genetic modification of seed oil by maximizing the proportion of specific fatty acids [5,6,7,8]. Brassica oil is considered beneficial from a health point of view. It contains linoleic acid, which is desirable for nutritional purposes, and oleic acid, whose thermostability makes it desirable for cooking oil [9].
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