Composition and tocopherol, fatty acid, and phytosterol contents in micro-endosperm ultra-high oil corn

Abstract

China has developed a new oil crop, micro-endosperm ultra-high oil corn, approved by the government in 2011 and named Huajian No. 1 (HJ-1). This study analyzed the nutrients in HJ-1 cold-pressed whole-seed oil, their composition and contents in tocopherols, fatty acids, and phytosterols and compares them with those of seven selected vegetable oils. HJ-1 oil contained a-, b-, g-, and d-tocopherol, with contents of 433.25 ± 0.13, 26.27 ± 0.08, 570.69 ± 0.27, and 38.41 ± 0.005 mg/kg, respectively, the highest nutritional values among the vegetable oils studied, except for soybean and palm oils. Gas chromatography was used for fatty acid analysis and seven were detected, with the main ones being palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids. In HJ-1, the ratio of oleic to linoleic acid was close to 1:1, and b-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol were present with contents of 254.20 ± 0.11, 108.91 ± 0.19, and 105.67 ± 0.58 mg/kg, respectively.