BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN CAMELINA SATIVA (L.) SEEDS

Camelina sativa (L.) is an old oil crop that is gaining interest due to its low impact on the environment and wide range of application. Camelina seeds can be used as a food ingredient and raw material for the production of oil. Chemical composition and the content of fat-soluble biologically active components of four varieties Camelina sativa (L.) seeds were investigated. The proteins content was from 25.8 % to 28.1% and carbohydrates from 32.0 to 35.4%, respectively. The oil content of the seeds was 26.8%, 27.8%, 29.2% and 29.3%, respectively. Unsaturated fatty acids, which were presented mainly as oleic (21.7 – 26.3%), linolenic (16.4 – 20.4%), linoleic (14.8 – 19.9%) and gadoleic (15.7 – 17.7%) acids, predominated in triacylglycerols. Total content of phospholipids in the oil, mainly phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidic acids was 12.0%, 12.1%, 15.0% and 16.7%, respectively. The amount of sterols was found to be 0.6% in the oil and beta-sitosterol predominated (68.3 – 71.4%) followed by campesterol (25.1 – 27.4%). Total tocopherol content was relatively higher (785 – 1075 mg/kg) than those in other seed oils. Gamma-tocopherol prevailed in tocopherol fraction in the oils (more than 90.0%).