Open Access

ARTICLE

Seed characteristics and fatty acid composition of castor (Ricinus communis L.) varieties in Northeast China

Huang FL^1,2, GL Zhu^2,3, YS Chen^1,2, FJ Meng⁴, M Peng^1,4, XF Chen^1,2, ZB He³, ZY Zhang³, YJ Chen^1,2

1 College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Tongliao 028043, China.
2 Inner Mongolia Industrial Engineering Research Center of Universities for Castor, Tongliao 028043, China.
3 Tongliao Academy of Agricultural Science, Tongliao 028043, China.
4 College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.

* Corresponding Author:Address Correspondence to: Fenglan Huang, e-mail:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2015, 84(1), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2015.84.026

Abstract

Oil content and fatty acid composition were investigated on 12 castor varieties and strains by using the soxhlet extraction method and capillary gas chromatography. This was made to provide a reference and theoretical basis for castorbean breeding with high oil content, determine variability of seed compounds for breeding purposes, and broaden chemical material choices. Results revealed that crude fat percentage in seeds ranged from 18.91 to 35.84% with an average of 25.91%; the absolute content of ricinoleic acid varied between 171.65 g/kg and 314.03 g/kg with an average of 222.43 g/kg, and kernel crude fat percentage was between 24.28 and 46.97% with an average of 34.30%. All these study variables were highest in the 2129 strain. The percentage of ricinoleic acid in crude fat was between 83.85 to 87.62%, and the highest value was found in the zhebi4 accession. The other fatty acids appeared in small concentrations, and showed small amplitude: 1.12 to 1.61%, 1.21 to 1.61%, 3.53 to 4.80%, 5.35 to 6.38%, 0.52 to 0.79%, 0.05 to 0.08% and 0.43 to 0.55%, for palmitic, stearic, oleic, linolic, linolenic, arachidic, and arachidonic acids, respectively. One hundred seed weight was determined for each accession. One hundred seed weight ranged from 25.7 g to 34.0 g with an average of 29.9 g. There was a significant correlation between seed weight and oil content, but the correlation value was low (r=0.51). Cluster analysis by SSPS based on the content of fatty acid composition revealed that the accessions were divided into three independent clusters. These findings will clearly provide useful information for further research in breeding and utilization of castor oil.

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