industrial crops and products 27 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 359–363 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop Novel seed oil types of Ethiopian mustard with high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids Abdelghani Nabloussi 1 , Angustias M ´ arquez-Lema, Jos´ e M. Fern ´ andez-Mart´ ınez, Leonardo Velasco * Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (CSIC), Alameda del Obispo s/n, E-14004 C´ ordoba, Spain article info Article history: Received 21 September 2007 Received in revised form 14 December 2007 Accepted 17 December 2007 Keywords: Brassica carinata Drying oils Fatty acids Germplasm Linoleic acid Linolenic acid Selection abstract Oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid have important indus- trial applications, both as drying oils in the manufacture of paints and coatings as well as in formulation of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. However, no oil types with high levels of polyunsaturation have been developed so far in Brassica oilseed crops. The objective of the present research was to select for high levels of linoleic acid and linolenic acid in Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun). Selection started from the F 3 (S 0 ) seed generation of crosses involving the high oleic acid, high erucic acid line N2-3591, the low linolenic, high erucic acid line HF-186, and the zero erucic acid line 25X-1. The analysis of individual S 0 seeds showed ranges of variation with maximum levels of 68.9% linoleic acid and 36.4% linolenic acid. Selection for increased levels of linoleic acid resulted in a S 1:2 high linoleic acid line BC-HL that showed average linoleic acid contents of 62.5%, 58.3%, and 59.6%, respectively in three contrasting environments, compared to 47.8%, 45.8%, and 52.1%, respectively in a high linoleic acid check line. Selection for increased levels of linolenic acid resulted in a S 1:2 high linolenic acid line BC-HLN that showed average linolenic acid contents of 27.1%, 25.8%, and 26.3%, respectively in the mentioned environments, compared to 23.9%, 21.2%, and 19.4%, respectively in a high linolenic acid check line. Both lines developed in the present research possess novel fatty acid profiles not available so far in Brassica oilseed crops and they may contribute to broaden the potential of Brassica oils for industrial applications. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) is an interest- ing potential oilseed crop for many regions, especially for those with semiarid or mediterranean climates (Warwick et al., 2006). One remarkable characteristic of Ethiopian mustard is its amenability to seed oil fatty acid modification through conventional, non-transgenic breeding approaches, which has enabled the development of germplasm with a wide range of seed oil types such as high oleic acid (>80%; Velasco et al., ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 957 499236; fax: +34 957 499252. E-mail address: ia2veval@uco.es (L. Velasco). 1 Present address: INRA-CRRA, P.O. Box 578, 50000 Mekn´ es, Morocco. 2003), low linolenic acid (<2%; Velasco et al., 2004), and high erucic acid content (>55%; Velasco et al., 1998a). Naturally occurring Ethiopian mustard germplasm is char- acterised by a seed oil with high erucic acid content (>30%) and a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the evaluation of a germplasm collection of several species of Brassica, Velasco et al. (1998b) reported average contents of 20.4% linoleic acid and 17.0% linolenic acid for high erucic acid Ethiopian mustard, compared to 15.6% linoleic acid and 8.4% linolenic acid for high erucic acid rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) 0926-6690/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2007.12.004