Seed Oil Contents, Fatty Acid Compositions, and Gossypol Concentrations of Some Okra Landraces

Okra has recently attracted attention owing to its superior tolerance to high temperatures, greater adaptation to poor soil conditions, and having a robust plant structure. The plant contains a high amount of oil and valuable fatty acids; however, the main restriction of using okra seeds as an oil crop results from its gossypol contents. The aim of this study was to determine the oil content of okra landraces and to evaluate its potential as an oil crop. For this aim, seed oil content, fatty acid compositions of cold-pressed seed oil, and gossypol concentrations of fruit, oil cake, and seed oil were investigated in a core collection of 26 okra landraces, lines, and cultivars. Individual plants were harvested at the full maturity stage, and seeds were harvested and dried under 35°C for 2 days prior to oil extraction. Oil content, fatty acid composition, and gossypol content were analyzed by NMR, GC-FID, and HPLC, respectively. The calibration coefficients (<i>r</i> ^<i>2</i> ) of all the methods were determined to be > 0.99. The seed oil content of the samples ranged between 12.15% and 18.83%. Linoleic (42.01%), palmitic (31.65%), oleic (18.39%), and stearic acids (3.20%) were found to be the largest fraction of the fatty acids. The data matrix from 19 fatty acids and oil content was subjected to Principle Component Analysis (PCA). As a result, 6 principal components (PCs, eigenvalues > 1) explained 83.84% of total variance in the data set, with PC1 contributing 32.69% of the total. Gossypol contents of the fruit, oil cake, and seed oil fractions ranged between LOQ-2.12, < LOQ-7.01, and < LOQ-62.46 mg/kg, respectively. In conclusion, okra may have the potential to be an alternative oil crop for food/feed purposes due to the presence of reasonable oil content, high-quality fatty acid variations, and very low amounts of toxic gossypols, warranting further breeding and agronomic studies.