Abstract

Sesame is one of the world’s most important oil crops because of its relatively superior oil quantity as well as quality. The oil content is about 50% of the seed weight but values higher than 63% have been reported in some cultivars. Conventional sesame oil contains approximately 9% palmitic acid, 5% stearic acid, 40% oleic acid, 45% linoleic acid, and 1 % linolenic acid. Oleic and linoleic acids each vary between 40% and 60% depending on cultivar and growth temperature, and together normally constitute about 85% of the total fatty acids. The oil is primarily for edible use but has potential for various industrial applications because of its high oxidative stability. Vegetable oils are subject to specific quality requirements both for food and non-food use, there being a continuous demand for new oil types. Thus, breeding effort is directed towards developing quality features demanded by the industry, mainly in relation to the fatty acid composition of the seed oil. Genetic modification of sesame oil may be achieved by conventional and biotechnological methods. Breeders have used the natural variation occurring within the crop and closely related species to improve a number of traits. However, such variation is limited for seed fatty acid composition within the Sesamum genus. Therefore, conventional breeding may not significantly alter the composition. Genetic engineering offers great potential for developing sesame cultivars having new oils. Production of novel high-value products by genetic engineering provides opportunity to diversify the use and subsequently increase the economic value of sesame oil. Prospects and challenges for engineering the fatty acid composition in sesame are highlighted

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Conference

2nd Swedish Plant Lipid Meeting

Authors' information