Studies on the chemical composition and fatty acid pattern of some brassica species

Abstract

11 Brassica spp. grown under identical agro-climatic conditions were analysed for oil, protein (wholeseed and oil-free basis), allylisothiocyanate value, and fatty acid composition. Oil content was 32.70-42.45%, protein (wholeseed basis) 24.06-31.87%, oleic acid 10.91-25.97%, linoleic acid 10.30-17.10%, and linolenic acid 10.80-20.37%. Erucic acid was lowest in B. napus (32.72%) and B. chinensis (33.29%) and highest in B. campestris T 151 (60.42%). There appeared to be an inverse relationship between erucic acid content and contents of the other 3 fatty acids. B napus and B. chinensis are recommended for edible purposes.