Biotechnology in quality improvement of oilseed brassicas

Abstract

The review presents a comprehensive description of the advances made towards desired quality improvements in rapeseed mustard. The two nutritionally undesired elements, namely erucic acid in the seed oil and glucosinolates in the deoiled meal, are discussed in reference to their nutritional implications and inheritance. The genetic manipulation of fatty acid biosynthetic pathway for diversified uses is also presented. It elaborates the use of biotechnological methods in terms of their conjugation with various other conventional approaches for genetic enhancement and value addition by developing the desired superior genotypes of brassicas for nutritional and industrial purposes. © 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved.