Variabilité des teneurs et compositions des composés mineurs dans l’huile de tournesol au cours du développement du capitule

Abstract

The sunflower oil is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and in minor components (1% of the oil fraction) including phytosterols, tocopherols, wax and others components. This study evaluates the content and composition of the tocopherols in four sunflower hybrids during two growing seasons (2002 & 2003) and in seven supplemented hybrids during a multilocal study in 2003. The accumulation of tocopherol in the maturing seeds was studied followed from flowering stage till full maturity. The kinetics of tocopherols was similar to fatty acids : rapid increase prior to 25 Days After Flowering (DAF) and then stabilization after 50 DAF. However, the temperature during the seed development induced changes in the tocopherol content, since the total amount of tocopherols was significantly reduced by high temperatures. On the other hand, the comparison of tocopherol content in the 11 hybrids tested clearly shows the impact of genetic factor concerning the level of tocopherols expressed in the seed. However in this study the genotype-environment interaction was slight. Data provided by this study show that content of tocopherol in the sunflower oil can be promoted though combined action on selection and growth conditions.

Keywords

• sunflower oil
• tocopherols
• vitamin E
• accumulation
• temperature