GLC analysis of Indian rapeseed-mustard to study the variability of fatty acid composition

Rapeseed-mustard is one of the most economically important oilseed crops in India. Speciality oils having high amounts of a specific fatty acid are of immense importance for both nutritional and industrial purposes. Oil high in oleic acid has demand in commercial food-service applications due to a l ong shelf-life and cholesterol-reducing properties. Both linoleic and linol enic acids are essential fatty acids; however, less than 3 % linolenic acid is preferred for oil stability. High erucic acid content is beneficial for the polymer industry, whereas low erucic acid is recommended for food purp oses. Therefore, it is important to undertake systematic characterization o f the available gene pool for its variable fatty acid profile to be utilize d for specific purposes. In the present study the Indian rapeseed-mustard g ermplasm and some newly developed low-erucic-acid strains were analysed by GLC to study the fatty acid composition in these lines. The GLC analysis re vealed that the rapeseed-mustard varieties being commonly grown in India ar e characterized by high erucic acid content (30-51 %)in the oil with low le vels of oleic acid (13-23 %). However, from among the recently developed lo w-erucic-acid strains, several lines were identified with comparatively hig h oleic acid (60-70 %), moderate to high linoleic acid (13-40 %) and low li nolenic acid (< 10 %) contents. Work is in progress at TERI (New Delhi, Ind ia) to utilize these lines for development of strains with particular fatty acid compositions for specific purposes.