Selection of borage (Borago officinalis) as a seed crop for pharmaceutical uses

Abstract

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has been reported to be beneficial in the treatment of a wide range of disorders. It is extracted from the seed of the evening primrose, but the seed of borage is an alternative source of supply with agronomic advantages. Lines of borage of diverse origin were assembled, and selections for increased seed production, oil content and GLA content, and for reduced erucic acid content, were made. All these characteristics except for oil content were clearly heritable, but GLA content was negatively correlated with oil content and positively correlated with erucic acid content. Blue-flowered northern European genotypes had a higher GLA content than white-flowered cultivated genotypes from Spain. © 1990, The Genetical Society of Great Britain.