Genotypic Variation on Oil Content, Fatty Acid Composition and Phenolic Compounds in Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Linseed is used as a functional food ingredient in food products because of its valuable bioactive compounds. In this study, the effect of cultivar variety on total oil content, fatty acid composition, level of α-linolenic acid, SDG (secoisolariciresinol diglucosid) lignan, phenolic (free and esterified) and flavonoid (free and esterified) content of linseeds (Linum usitatissimum L.) cultivated in Turkey was investigated. Also, it was aimed to determine the correlations between the bioactive compounds investigated in this research. The results of this study showed that cultivar variety had a significant effect on these bioactive compounds (p<0.05). Total oil contents changed from 37.55 to 45.07% and the level of α-linolenic acids were found between 46.33 and 55.47% in linseed oil samples. The highest total phenolic content was determined as 1209.20 mg ferrulic acid/100 g in brown coloured linseeds whereas, the highest total flavonoids was calculated as 33.65 mg luteolin/100 g in yellow coloured linseeds. Besides, SDG lignan content of linseeds changed from 5.87 to 23.84 mg/g in defatted linseed flour. On the other hand, strong correlations were obtained between percentages of unsaturated fatty acids and α-linolenic acids (r=0.98), SDG lignan and total phenolic contents (r=0.98) and also between total flavonoid content and α-linolenic acid level (r=0.93) of linseeds.