Fatty acid profile variability in Jatropha curcas oil and their use as varietal descriptors

Abstract

Because of its fatty acid profile (FAP) Jatropha curcas seed oil is considered suitable to produce biodiesel. FAP indicates the presence and proportion of different fatty acids such as oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. However, the FAP is variable between populations of the same species, therefore the quality of the biodiesel produced varies from one accession to another. Different genetic improvement programs select and cross plants to improve seed yield, nonetheless, it is necessary to obtain new varieties with the appropriate FAP for high-quality biodiesel production. In the present work, the variability of the FAP of 24 accessions (6 parents and 3 controls and 15 F1 hybrids) was evaluated, as well as the use of fatty acids as chemical descriptors. The FAP was determined by GC-MS chromatography, their variability and interdependence were evaluated to establish the fatty acids (or the relationship among them) that could be used as trait. Finally, a method is proposed to assign trait states considering the variability of the character value, for use as a varietal chemical descriptor.