Environmental and Varietal Influences on the Fatty Acid Composition of Rapeseed, Soybeans and Sunflowers

Abstract

The fatty acid (FA) composition of oil crops is of some importance under technological as well as under nutritional aspects. The influence of temperature on this parameter in rapeseed, soybeans and sunflowers was investigated under practical agricultural conditions, whereby varietal variations were taken into account. The analysed plant material originated from variety testing trials located in different climatic zones of Austria. As a measure of the climatic conditions of a location, the mean temperature of the last 30 days before harvest was calculated. Despite the low temperature differences between the various locations, moderate but significant negative correlations between temperature and the share of linolenic (18 : 3), respectively, linoleic (18 : 2) acid on the whole quantity of FAs in rapeseed (R² = 0.18–0.42), soybeans (R² = 0.11–0.13) and sunflowers (R² = 0.15) were found. Furthermore, there was a good negative correlation in the case of sunflower seeds between temperature and oil level (R² = 0.45). The environmental influence on the share of polyunsaturated FAs differed between the different species. The results show that quality of vegetable oils is as well a question of environment as of variety.

Comparison of fatty acid profiles and contents of seed oils recovered from dessert and cider apples and further Rosaceous plants

“…In general, temperature has been shown to be the most important factor influencing the biosynthesis and accordingly the content of oil and proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in plants. As demonstrated for sunflower seeds, lower temperatures result in decreased lipid contents [30,31]. Additionally, water supply of sunflowers may also influence the yields of seeds and oil.…”

Effects of photoperiod, growth temperature and cold acclimatisation on glucosinolates, sugars and fatty acids in kale

“…botrytis) (Werteker, Lorenz, Johannes, Berghofer, & Findlay, 2010), and the ratio of unsaturated vs. saturated fatty acids was higher when grown in late compared to early seasons in Italy (Lo Scalzo, Bianchi, Genna, & Summa, 2007). The content of sucrose in two Hydrangea species increased under short day at low growth temperature conditions (Pagter, Liu, Jensen, & Petersen, 2008).…”

Increased growing temperature reduces content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in four oilseed crops

“…The tubes 179 were heated at 78°C for 30 minutes to synthesize the methyl esters. To isolate the methyl 180 esters from water soluble compounds, 2 mL of water and 2 mL of hexane:chloroform and with studies performed in fields with soybean, canola, and sunflower over smaller 215 temperature ranges (12 to 17 °C) (Werteker et al, 2010). Camelina was unique in that its 216 lipid profile was nearly independent of growing temperature over the range investigated.…”

“…Compared to previous multi-crop studies on seed oil compositions, the current study is 96 distinct in that it includes camelina with the traditional crops (Werteker et al, 2010). 97…”