ABSTRACT
Currant seeds, a by-product of juice production, are recognized as a valuable source of oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. We have evaluated 28 currant varieties for their oil content and fatty-acid composition. The oil content in the seeds ranged from 18.2-27.7%, and no statistical difference between varieties of different fruit color were recorded. Furthermore, the estimated oil yields in the field production ranged from 26.4-212.4 kg/ha. The GC and GC/MS chemical profiles of the seed oils extracted from all examined varieties were common for currants. Linoleic acid (LA) was the major component, with contents ranging from 32.7-46.9% of total fatty acids, followed by α-linolenic acid (ALA; 2.9-32.0 %), oleic acid (OA; 9.8-19.9%), γ-linolenic acid (GLA; 3.3-18.5%), palmitic acid (PA; 4.4-8.1%), stearidonic acid (SDA; 2.2-4.7%), and stearic acid (SA; 1.2-2.4%). Quantitative differences in the fatty-acid profiles between varieties of different fruit color were observed. Blackcurrant varieties showed significantly higher contents of LA, GLA, and PA than red and white currant varieties, whereas significantly higher amounts of ALA and OL were detected in the red and white varieties. Cluster analysis based on the chemical oil profiles joined the blackcurrants in one group, while most of the red and white cultivars joined in a second group at the same linkage distance.
