Monday, 7 November 2005
9

This presentation is part of: Germplasm Collection Management and Evaluation for Trait Utilization

Genetic Resources of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Crops.

David M. Brenner, Tomas Ayala-Silva, Barbara Hellier, Kim E. Hummer, Maria Jenderek, Laura Fredrick Marek, J. B. Morris, Randall Nelson, K. R. Reitsma, Larry D. Robertson, Susan M. Stieve, Ed W. Stover, and Mark P. Widrlechner.

At least ten crops are contending for a new commercial category as sources of omega-3 fatty acids for healthful dietary supplements.  The omega-3 fatty acid generally harvested from plants is: alpha-linolenic acid, also known as ALA, aLnA, C18:3n-3, 18:3-Delta-9c12c15c, or cis-9cis-12cis-15 octadecatrienoic acid.  Fish oils are also commercially available sources for omega-3 including the forms eicosapentaenoic acid 20:5 and docosahexaenoic acid 22:6 which are rare in plant sources.  These ten omega-3 crops are commercially developed to the stage that they can be purchased from internet sites by searching for the crop name + “omega-3”: black currant (Ribes), borage, (Borago), chia (Salvia), flax (Linum), hemp (Cannabis), perilla (Perilla), purslane (Portulaca), pumpkin (Cucurbita), walnut (Juglans), and wheat germ (Triticum). In addition to commercial omega-3 crops the following plant genera have at least one report of omega-3 at high levels; with more than 30% of the seed comprised of an oil containing more than 30% omega-3 in the fatty acids: Agrimonia, Aleurites, Arabis, Calamintha, Calocedrus, Cryptantha, Descurainia, Euphorbia, Helleborus, Lallemantia, Malcolmia, Micromeria, Nicotiana, Odontites, Phyllanthus, Plukenetia, Saloa, Saxifraga, Tetradium, and Thuja. Many conventional leafy vegetables contain some Omega-3 but purslane, watercress (Nasturtium) and mint (Mentha) have higher concentrations than most foliage sources. The following conventional crops have Omega-3 at moderate concentrations, avocado (Persea), canola (Brassica), sesame (Sesamum), and soybean (Glycine); and they are frequently included on popular lists of omega-3 sources.


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