Evaluation of seed content and fatty acid profile in blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) genotypes

Twenty-two blackcurrant genotypes, ‘Karri’, ‘Almo’, ‘Ats’, ‘Elo’, ‘Varmas’, ‘Mairi’, ‘Asker’, ‘Pilėnai’, ‘Vyčiai’, ‘Ben Alder’, ‘Ben Nevis’, ‘Ben Lomond’, ‘Ben Sarek’, ‘Intercontinental’, ‘Titania’, ‘Öjebyn’, ‘Ļentjai’, ‘Pamyati Vavilova’, ‘Zagadka’, 10B, 1-96-16, and 2-96-51, were evaluated in two subsequent years. The aim of the research was to compare berry weight, seed content in the berries, and fatty acid profile in the seeds. The composition of fatty acids was identified and quantified using gas chromatography. Blackcurrant berry weight varied between 1.0 and 1.7 g, depending on the genotype, being the highest in genotypes ‘Mairi’, ‘Karri’, ‘Intercontinental’, and ‘Ļentjai’. Seed content in berries ranged from 2.2% to 4.6% and was the highest in ‘Karri’ and ‘Elo’. Oil content correlated positively with the proportion of seeds per fresh weight of berries. Therefore, the highest seed content correlated with the highest oil content per fresh weight of berries in ‘Karri’ and ‘Elo’, 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. On average over two years, the total oil content in the seeds ranged from 24.4% to 31.2%, showing the highest levels in ‘Ben Nevis’, ‘Pamyati Vavilova’, and ‘Asker’. The most abundant fatty acid identified in blackcurrant seeds was linoleic acid, ranging from 40.1% to 48.6%, followed by α-linolenic acid, from 11.7% to 16.5%, oleic acid, from 10.3% to 16.4%, and γ-linolenic acid, from 10.9% to 15.6%.