Tocopherol Content of Soybean Lines with Mid‐oleate and 1%‐Linolenate

Abstract

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] oil is an important commercial source of tocopherol (vitamin E). Some genetic modifications of the fatty ester makeup of soybean oil have resulted in changes in the content of total tocopherol and its components. The objective of this study was to determine if increases in the oleate content of soybean lines would alter their content of total tocopherol or its components compared with conventional soybean lines. There were 20 soybean lines with mid‐oleate and 1%‐linolenate (MO) content and 20 lines with conventional‐oleate and 1%‐linolenate (CO) content selected from each of three segregating populations. The lines were evaluated in three Iowa environments during 2007. The average total tocopherol content in oil across populations was 1790 mg kg−1 for the MO type and 1780 mg kg −1 for the CO type. Although the average total tocopherol was similar between the two types, the average proportion of α‐tocopherol was 27.6 mg kg−1 greater, γ‐tocopherol was 76.5 mg kg−1 less, and δ‐tocopherol was 56.2 mg kg−1 greater for the MO than the CO type. There was significant variation among MO lines for total tocopherol and the three components, which indicated that it should be possible to develop cultivars with tocopherol contents that are best suited to the needs of the end user.