African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12501

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) germplasm collection of Tamil Nadu for α-linolenic acid, sesamin and sesamol content

Muthulakshmi Chellamuthu
  • Muthulakshmi Chellamuthu
  • Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore-641004, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Pavithra Sekar
  • Pavithra Sekar
  • Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore-641004, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Selvi Subramanian
  • Selvi Subramanian
  • Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore-641004, Tamil Nadu, India.
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  •  Received: 21 September 2016
  •  Accepted: 11 November 2016
  •  Published: 07 June 2017

Abstract

A germplasm collection of Tamil Nadu comprising of nine varieties and six landraces were analyzed for their ω3 fatty acid content, lignans such as sesamin and sesamol. The percentage of ALA ranges from 0.1 to 0.55%. A wide variation was observed in sesamol content. The highest sesamol content of 0.547 mg/g was found in a variety SVPR1. The sesamin content ranged between 2.03 and 6.45 mg/g. A negative relationship was observed between total oil content and ALA. White sesame seeds had higher sesamol content whereas black varieties revealed higher sesamin content.

Key words: ω3 fatty acid, sesame, sesamin, sesamol, Tamil Nadu germplasm.

Abbreviation

ALA, Alpha linolenic acid; mt, metric tonnes; ha, hectare.