BIOCHEMICAL FEATURES OF SEEDS IN OIL FLAX VARIETIES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES

Abstract

Flaxseed oil and seeds are natural sources of essential fatty acids – ω-6 linoleic and ω-3 α-linolenic. However, the content of α-linolenic acid in the seeds of industrial varieties of oil flax and even in individual varieties of the food industry is several times higher than the content of fatty acids presented in the pool, including linoleic acid. Therefore, there is a need to create varieties with a ratio of ω-3:ω-6 of at least 1:5 for food and medicinal use. The article studies the biochemical parameters of seeds in oil flax varieties for different areas of use, both technical and food. The work used standard methods of biochemical analysis of plant seeds (extraction method for determining fat, gas-liquid chromatography, titration, spectrophotometric methods). Statistical analysis of research results was carried out using the programs Libre Office Calc (GNU Lesser General Public Licensev). As a result of the study of five varieties, three of which are considered for food use (‘Kivika’, ‘Zhyvynka’, ‘Solnechnyj’), it was established that only the 'Solnechnyj' variety has a ω-3:ω-6 ratio in oil of 1:16.9, which corresponds to the recommended indicators. and other cultivars have high linolenic acid values and, accordingly, an altered polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio of 3:1 and 1:1.6, respectively. A comparative study of the content of fatty acids and the determination of acid, peroxide and iodine numbers showed that the iodine number and the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids are the most important criteria for identifying the quality of the oil and determine the further directions for its use. It was revealed that flax seeds of both technical and food fields are very rich in vitamin E at the level of 117–146 mg/100 g. Therefore, they are recommended to be used more widely in food as a source of this vitamin. It is proposed that when creating new varieties of flax for food purposes, also need to take into account the indicators of iodine and acid numbers, which should be low in them. These indicators are also of interest for characterizing already existing varieties in order to differentiate them. It is noted that for food use it is necessary to create varieties with a reduced content of linolenic acid to the level of 5-10%.