Variability of seed oil content, fatty acid composition, and nervonic acid content in Acer truncatum, native to 14 regions of China

Abstract

The seed oil of 138 accessions of 14 Acer truncatum (Aceraceae family) populations native to China were analyzed by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. The oil content ranged from 17.81% to 36.56% (mean: 28.57%), which mainly consisted of 14 types of fatty acids. Palmitic (4.69%), stearic (2.30%), oleic (25.19%), linoleic (32.97%), linolenic (2.76%), cis-11-eicosenoic (7.90%), erucic (16.49%), and nervonic (5.76%) fatty acids accounted for 98% of total fat. The nervonic acid content ranged from 3.90% to 7.85% among the accessions. Significant variations in oil content and predominating fatty acids were observed among populations. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis detected obvious geographical variation trends among A. truncatum populations which correlate with environmental variations (especially altitude, temperature, and precipitation) and supported the grouping of the populations into three groups according to geographic locations.