Compositional Analysis of Camelina sativa Cultivars

Researchers Involved:

Project Description:

Compositional data on both the nutrients and anti-nutritive compounds found within the oilseed crop Camelina sativa, has been compiled and will be added to the growing body of data in order to assist Montana agricultural producers in determining the feasibility of growing camelina and which of the potential markets they should target.
  
Fatty Acid Analysis: The fatty acid profile of the various cultivars is likely the most important analytical data to ascertain.  The relatively high amount of omega-3 fatty acids in camelina provides great market potential for this oilseed crop in both the human food and animal feed markets (Fig 3).  The cultivars with the highest ALA content and lowest erucic acid will be selected for further product development within both of these market sectors.  The camelina cultivars assessed, to date, contain an average of 33.0% omega-3 fatty acids (as alpha-linoleic acid – ALA).  This is higher than all other commonly consumed plantseed oils with the exception of flaxseed oil.

Tocopherols/Tocotrienols:  Antioxidant profile is critically important here as oils high in omega-3 fatty acids are known to be highly susceptible to oxidation.  Oxidation not only results in an off-flavor, but increases the risk of rancidity and reduces the shelf-life of the oil. Tocopherol content is an accepted indicator of antioxidation potential (Fig. 17).    Data collected, to date, shows the Montana grown Camelina varieties to have an average total tocopherol content of 708 ug/g, with the majority as gamma-tocopherol.  This value is higher than the tocopherol values reported for flaxseed oil (206 ug/g according to USDA Nutrient Database).

Glucosinolates: Glucosinolates are natural substances common in many plants and are known to be particularly widespread in the Brassica family. Total glucosinolates were evaluated for 3 European varieties, MT-1, MT-3 and MT-5 (Fig. 18).  The glucosinolate composition of 50 camelina accessions has been analyzed by Dr. Mark Berhow (USDA ARS- Peoria IL).   Dr. Berhow’s analyses show an average of 31 mg/g glucosinolates in defatted camelina meal.    Knowledge of glucosinolate content of camelina is important as high levels of glucosinolates are contraindicted in products intended for animal feed.  However, for human nutrition applications, certain glucosinolates are known to confer anticarcinogenic properties.

Fig. 17

Fig. 18