Ana Marjanović Jeromela, Sreten Terzić, Radovan Marinković, Jovanka Atlagić, Željko Milovac, Milan Jocković, Aleksandar Mikić Institute of field and vegetable crops, Novi Sad, Maksima Gorkog 30 ana.jeromela@nsseme.com Summary Beside sunflower and soybean that are major oil sources in Serbia agro-ecological conditions, numerous other plant species are also regarded as a possible oil source of various quality parameters. In this view, a long-term study of minor oil crops collection of IFVCNS was carried out, including research on rapeseed, castor oil plant, flax, sesame, safflower, mustard, false flax, caper spurge, mary thistle, chufa sedge, coriander, dill, okra and lens. The analyzed species showed wide variability of oil and protein content, as well as fatty acid composition in oil. Rapeseed is most widely grown alternative oil crop in South-Eastern Europe. Testing production and seed quality of IFVCNS collection of this species has confirmed the high value of the genotypes for further breeding. Keywords: Brassica napus, oil content, protein content Introduction Oils obtained from soybean, rapeseed and sunflower are the main sources of oil in Serbia as well as in international markets. Besides the major oil crops, other oilseed crops have been used traditionally in some countries before new cultivars were developed by modern breeding. Besides for food uses, many such crops also find applications in industries such as those relating to cosmetics, medicine, soap manufacturing, flavoring and perfumes. In general, very little is known about the conditions of their production, post-harvest handling, processing, trade and utilization (Axtell, 1992). Diversification of production could even support growing economies through decrease of vulnerability to declining prices of the goods and opening new local and export markets. There is a necessity to investigate new opportunities and minor crops could provide an answer. Minor oil crops could be divided into three sections namely: (1) minor edible oil crops, (2) minor non-edible oil crops, and (3) minor essential oil crops, each with various applications (Table 1.). Table 1. Summary of various major applications of minor oil crops (Adapted from Axtell, 1992) Minor edible oil crops Minor non-edible oil crops Minor essential oil crops Edible oil Medicine Perfumery, as fragrance or diluents Cosmetics Soap Food flavor or food condiment Soap Cosmetics Medicine, both modern and traditional Substitute for cocoa butter Flavoring for liquors Insect or animal repellent Medicine Lighting Fungicides or bactericidal agent Candle and lighting Pesticide Pesticide Paints and varnishes Motor fuel Paints and varnishes 25
Material and Methods The collection of oil species in the Oil crops department of the Institute of field and vegetable crops (IFVCNS) was founded in 1980 and since then it was enlarged by exchange with other germplasm collections and breeding centers, mostly from Bulgaria and Turkey, and through collecting efforts in Serbia. In total it contains 23 species represented with 1 to 9 accessions (Table 2). Table 2. The collection of oil species in the Oil crops department of the IFVCNS and number of accessions (acc) per each species Species Serbian name Latin name No acc. Caper spurge Кртичњак (Euphorbia lathyris L.) 1 Castor oil plant Рицинус (Ricinus communis) 5 Chard Блитва (Beta vulgaris var. Cicla) 1 Chickpea Наут /Леблебија (Cicer arietinum L.) 4 Chufa Sedge Пероњика (Cyperus esculentus) 2 Common wetch Грахорица (Vicia sativa L.) 1 Coriander Кориандер (Coriandrum sativum L.) 4 Dill Мирођија (Anethum graveolens L.) 1 False flax Ланик (Camelina sativa Crtz.) 1 Flax Лан (Linum usitatissimum L.) 9 Flax blue Лан плави (Linum narbonense L.) 1 Flax white Лан бели (Linum suffruticosum L.) 1 Lens Сочиво (Lens culinaris Medic.) 1 Mary thistle Госпин трн (Silуbum marianum L.) 2 Oil gourd Уљана тиква (Cucurbita pepo var.oleifera) 2 Oil pumpkin Уљана бундева (Cucurbita pepo convarietas citrullinina) 1 Okra Бамија (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) 1 Pea Грашак (Pisum sativum L.) 1 Safflower Шафрањика (Carthamus tinctorius L.) 2 Sesame Сусам (Sesamum indicum L.) 1 Summer savory Чубар (Satureja hortensis L.) 1 White lupin Бела лупина (Lupinus albus L.) 1 White mustard Бела слачица (Sinapsis alba L.) 1 A part of the collection is sawn every year for the seed multiplication and research. Plants are isolated by cages covered with textile that cover the whole accession to prevent open pollination, while pollination for seed production is usually performed by hand. Accessions are grown in individual plots occupying 3,6 by 1m area with each species sown in plant density recommended for local growing conditions. Irrigation is made as needed and weed control is performed by hand. Harvest is made by hand, according to maturation of each species. Long-term studies on castor oil plant, flax, sesame, safflower, white mustard, false flax, caper spurge, mary thistle, chufa sedge, coriander, dill, okra, lens, white lupin, chard, common wetch, pea, chickpea, oil pumpkin, oil gourd and summer savory, were performed for oil and protein content, as well as fatty acid composition in oil. Rapeseed was included in the material as the most widely grown alternative oil crop in South-Eastern Europe. Oil content was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and fatty acid composition using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The protein content was determined using Kjeldahl method. All analyses were performed in the chemical laboratory of the Oil crops department at the Institute of field and vegetable crops. 26
Results and Discussion The lowest oil content was found in common wetch, only 0,77%, and the highest in sesame reaching 55,01% (Tab.3.). High oil content was also found in caper spurge (48,65-50,8%). Knights et al (2001), also separate this species as high oil producing, but the usage of its oil is limited because of toxic compounds to industrial use. It is notable that there are four species with oil content equal to or higher than that of major oil crops like soybean, rapeseed and sunflower and that neither of them is used in Serbia on a larger scale for oil production. Those species are sesame, caper spurge, castor oil plant and oil gourd. Oil gourd was especially interesting because it also has much higher protein content than the other mentioned species (Table 3.). Table 3. Oil and protein content in different oil plant species and their correlation coefficient (r) (Original results combined with results from Marjanović-Jeromela et al 2007, 2011a, 2011b; Mohamed and Rangappa, 1992; Oz et al, 2009). Species Serbian name Oil content (%) Protein content (%) (r) Okra Бамија 15,93-18,42 21,04-22,73-0,88 White lupin Бела лупина 10,07 31,72-0,68 White mustard Бела слачица 16,26 39,54-0,03 Chard Блитва 4,58 17,36-0,06 Mary thistle Госпин трн 25,03-26,06 16,92-18,75-0,06 Common wetch Грахорица 0,77 30,01-0,63 Pea Грашак 1,65 25,44-0,34 Coriander Кориандер 7,82-8,41 17,18-17,94 0,11 Caper spurge Кртичњак 48,65-50,8 14,13-15,06 0,61 Flax Лан 39,27-39,95 23,61-24,17-0,11 False flax Ланик 35,69-36,57 26,39-28,78 0,77 Dill Мирођија 4,68-5,64 17,09-17,33-0,99 Chickpea Наут /Леблебија 5,13 22,85-0,14 Chufa Sedge Пероњика 24,53 4,15 - Castor oil plant Рицинус 44,53-52,28 13,12-17,25 0,97 Lens Сочиво 1,14 24,81 - Sesame Сусам 55,01 21,79 - Oil pumpkin Уљана бундева 26,36 22,98-1,00 Oil gourd Уљана тиква 47,87 34,74 0,56 Summer savory Чубар 31,74 23,59-0,67 Safflower Шафрањика 8,71-12 14,08-15,41 0,03 Soybean Соја 36,9-47,9 13,3-23,0-0,62 Sunflower Сунцокрет 36,33-50,15 16,00-23,59-0,47 Rapeseed Уљана репица 36,23-52,41 16,01-25,36-0,49 Most of the analyzed species had negatively correlated content of proteins and oil, with only four species, namely oil gourd, caper spurge, false flax and castor oil plant with positive correlation above 0,5. Negative correlation above 0,5 was found for oil pumpkin, dill, okra, white lupin, summer savory and common wetch (Table 3.). Based on the correlation coefficient, there is a possibility of the utilization of certain crops as sources of both oil and protein. The value of safflower as an oil species is mainly in its high drought tolerance. It is possible that somewhat lower oil content found in our trials is caused by too high soil moisture. Similar conclusion 27
could be made for false flax, where oil content was 36,57%. In comparison to the results of Müller (2001), who found an average oil content of 41,41%. Oil content in flax and coriander was analyzed on more than one accession and certain variation was found between them. Result points to the need of testing larger number of accessions per each species to obtain a better determination of variability for agronomically important traits. According to the oil content some species were very similar, so they could be classified in to separate groups like sunflower and caper spurge, rapeseed and castor oil plant, and a special group formed by soybean, flax and false flax. Fatty acid composition studies of the collection in Novi Sad (unpublished data) showed that besides oleic, linoleic and α-linoleic acid which on average made 37, 22 and 19% of the total fatty acid content, there were fatty acids making less than 1%. Certain species like mary thistle could be regarded as possible sources of arachidic, behenic and lignoceric acid because it contains up to three times more of those fatty acids than the first following species. Dill and coriander were in the same manner found to be a possible source of myristic acid. The largest deviation from the average values was found for false flax which had up to 15 times higher content of eicosenoic acid than the other analyzed species. Specific example is the castor oil plant because it is the only source of ricinoleic acid among the analyzed species. Protein content varied considerably in the analyzed species (Tab. 3.). The highest seed protein content was found in white mustard (39,54%) and the lowest in chufa sedge (4,15%). White mustard belongs to the Brassicaceae family, and is usually grown as fodder crop or as green manure (Marjanović- Jeromela et al, 2007). High protein content was also found in oil gourd (34,74%), white lupin (31,72%), summer savory (23,59%) and oil pumpkin (22,98%) (Tab. 3.). Presented protein contents are comparable to soybean which is the most important protein crop in Serbia. The residues remaining after pressing and oil extraction could therefore be used as a source of proteins for animal feed. Even though castor oil plant and caper spurge have a relatively high seed protein content it cannot be utilized due to toxic components that are present after the pressing. Flavoring species like coriander and dill had around 17% of proteins. Safflower has the potential to be used more than it is at present, but certain breeding efforts have to be made prior to achieving that goal. Some of the objectives would include lowering hull content, which is in negative correlation with oil and protein content, increasing protein content without lowering oil content and changing fatty acid composition. Further breeding objectives would include increased disease resistance and tolerance to abiotic factors (Sehgal and Raina, 2011). Conclusions The presented results suggest multiple usage possibilities, but it is important to evaluate the selected species in the potential growing regions to have a reliable and precise evaluation of desired traits. From the aspect of sustainable agricultural production and organic production, minor oil crops could have an added value of contributing to better crop rotation. The analyzed species showed large variability for oil and protein seed content. The most interesting species for further breeding would be flax, false flax, safflower and sesame, while oil gourd had the highest combined content of oil and proteins. The possibilities for their use are linked to biodiesel industry, cold pressed oils and the use of so called marginal soils. Castor oil plant proved to be perspective specie for the production of biodiesel and other non food products. Further research should include multi location and multiyear trials aimed at determining optimal growing conditions and practices for each of the species, besides the work on traits that determine quality. 28
Acknowledgments This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia through a project number TR 31025. References Axtell BL (1992). FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin: Minor Oil Crops No 94: Part One-Edible Oils, Part Two-Non-Edible Oils, Part Three-Essential Oils. Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): 241. Knights SE, Norton RM, Marcroft SJ, Salisbury PA, Oram RN, Pymer SJ (2001). Potential alternative oilseeds for south-eastern Australia. Proceedings of the 10th Australian Agronomy Conference, http://www.regional.org.au. Marjanovic-Jeromela A, Marinković R, Atlagić J, Terzić S, Lečić N (2007). Mogućnost korišćenja uljanih biljaka iz novosadske kolekcije. Bilten za hmelj sirak i lekovito bilje. 39: 80, 47-52. Marjanović-Jeromela A, Marinković R, Atlagić J, Zeremski T, Đorđević V, Terzić S, Mikić A (2011a). Energy potential of alternative oil plant species. 19 th symposium of the Serbian Plant Physiology Society. 13-15 June, Banja Vrujci, Serbia. Marjanović-Jeromela A, Marinković R, Ivanovska S, Jankulovska M, Mijić A, Hristov N, (2011b). Variability of yield determining components in winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and their correlation with seed yield. Genetika, 43: 1, 51-66. Mohamed AI and Rangappa M (1992). Screening soybean (grain and vegetable) genotypes for nutrients and anti-nutritional factors. Plant foods for human nutrition. 42: 1, 87-96. Müller M (2001). Untersuchungen zur Anbaueignung und Verbesserung der Stickstoffeffizienz von Öllein (Linum usitatissimmum L.), Leindotter (Camelina sativa Crtz.) und Raps (Brassica napus L.). Doktorska disertacija. Oz M, Karasu A, Cakmak I, Goksoy AT, Ozmen N (2009). Protein, oil and fatty acid contents of hybrids and their parents of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Asian Journal of Chemistry. 21: 4, 3099-3106. Sehgal D and Raina SN (2011). Carthamus. In: Chittaranjan Kole (ed.) Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources Oilseeds. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 63-96. 29