The meal left after the extraction of oil has a protein content of up to 50%. Its use is however complicated by several anti-nutrients, the most prominent of them being the glucosinolates. These are sulphur rich compounds found in all members of the cruciferae family. Their hydrolysis products hamper the normal functioning of thyroid gland, resulting among other effects, in decreased levels of thyroid hormones production. These hormones are required to control the normal running of metabolism.According to BELL, (1984) rapeseed would have been the most unlikely plant to be used for food supply, if its toxic factors were known before. It is to the credit of Canadian researchers in this field that the first low erucic acid variety was developed in 1968 and the first double low variety was released in 1974. The terms "double low" or "double zero" refer to low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates. Some of the varieties are even called triple zero due to further improvement through reducing the fibre content (PUSZTAI, 1989) The name canola was adopted for the double low varieties of rapeseed in 1979. By definition Canola seeds contain less than 2% erucic acid and less than 30 µmoles glucosinolates in its defatted meal. Although the United States Department of Food and Drug Administration recognised Canola as a separate species, in the scientific writings the names canola and double low or double zero-rapeseed are used interchangeably.Although genetic manipulations have introduced much changes in the chemical composition of rapeseed through reduction in erucic acid and glucosinolates, these antinutrients have not yet been totally removed. These are, also, not the only factors detracting from the nutritional worth of rapeseed. The carbohydrates in the meal, which are mostly pectins, cellulose and amyloids, are not regarded as readily digestible, leading to low metabolizable energy content. Phytates present in the rapeseed meal cause the binding of divalent minerals and some proteins. The phenolic compounds have their own effects, the most prominent and thoroughly investigated being the egg taint or the fishy odour in the eggs of brown-shelled-egg-layers.Reduction in the glucosinolate content in rapeseed through quality breeding and other techniques has been limited only to alkenyl-glucosinolates. Almost half of the remaining glucosinolates in the double improved varieties are the indolyl glucosinolates. Seen from a purely genetic point of view, it would not, theoretically, be possible to bring the glucosinolate content in rapeseed meal to zero. This means they will continue to pose problems if other methods could not be devised to remove them from the rapeseed meal.Situation in Pakistan in this regards is different. Bulk of the rapeseed and hence of rapeseed meal is that of high glucosinolate-varieties. And we will have to wait for quite a long time till the meal of the Canola type rapeseed varieties is available in some mentionable quantities.A possible alternative to the breeding approach can be a technological ...