Variability for oil and fatty acid composition in castorbean varieties

Abstract

Thirty‐six castorbean varieties were surveyed for oil and fatty acid composition, in order to determine variability of these seed compounds. A large variability of seed oil percentage was observed, ranging from 39.6 to 59.5%. Concerning the fatty acids, little variability was observed for ricinoleic acid, which was the most abundant in the oil, ranging from 83.65 to 90.00%. The other fatty acids appeared in small concentrations and showed a small range: 0.87 to 2.35, 0.68 to 1.84, 2.96 to 5.64, 3.19 to 5.98, and 0.34 to 0.91%, for palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid, respectively. Non‐significant correlations were observed between fatty acids and seed oil percentage. However, significant correlations were observed among fatty acid concentrations: positive and negative ones. These significant correlations could be associated with the biosynthetic pathways of the fatty acids, which are not fully elucidated. They suggest, however, that selection for a particular fatty acid will tend to increase those positively correlated, and decrease those negative ones. Selection and plant breeding techniques could then be applied to modify the oil content of the castorbean seeds, considering the variability observed. For the fatty acid composition, however, the variability was not large enough to make substantial changes in their concentrations by selection procedures. More varieties should be surveyed to find out if such variability is available.

Sequencing of Chinese castor lines reveals genetic signatures of selection and yield-associated loci

“…The oil derivatives are widely used as basic or supplementary materials for many industrial applications, such as lubricants 3 , cosmetics, paint, coatings 4 , medicines 5 , ink and many others 6–8 . Specifically, ricinoleic acid 9 , a major component of castor oil, has special physical and chemical properties that will be extremely valuable for biodiesel in the near future 10–12 .…”

Correlation between the chemical structure of biodiesel and its physical properties

“…Castor is the only commercial source of vegetable oil containing hydroxylated fatty acids. Also significant, is that fact that one of these fatty acids, ricinoleic acid (C18:0, OH), comprises approximately 88-90 % of the oil produced by castor (Da Silva Ramos et al, 1984). Ricinoleic acid is a complex fatty acid which contains both a double bond and a hydroxyl group.…”

Antinociceptive Activity and Toxicity Evaluation of the Fatty Oil from Plukenetia polyadenia Mull. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae)

“…Oleic acid (OA, 18:1 n-9, omega 9, 13.9%) was also present in the oil but with a lower content. Some oils from the Euphorbiaceae, such as Ricinus communis L. and Jatropha curcas L., contains triglycerides composed of fatty acids considered laxative and toxic [11,12]. It is not the case of Pp-oil, which is edible and composed only of fatty acids commonly found in vegetable oils used for cooking.…”