DISTRIBUTION OF FATTY ACIDS WITHIN THE SEED OF FLAX

Abstract

Fatty acid analysis of oil from the basal, mid, and apical portions of individual flaxseeds (Linum usitatissimum L.) revealed that the portion nearest the embryo axis had more palmitic and linoleic acid and less oleic and linolenic acid than the remainder of the seed.Seed of flax selection F.P. 497 was dissected into three components, embryo axis, cotyledons, and combined testa and endosperm. The embryo axis tissue contributed only 4.4% of the total seed oil, but its fatty acid composition differed significantly from that of the attached cotyledons. The embryo axis contained 11.3% palmitic, 5.0% stearic, 10.6% oleic, 28.1% linoleic and 45.0% linolenic acid compared with 5.1, 4.7, 17.6, 14.0 and 58.6%, respectively, for the cotyledons.The testa and endosperm contained 21.6% of the total oil and had a high level of palmitic but a very low level of stearic acid. These two tissues significantly influence overall seed composition; therefore they must be considered in microsampling.