Chemical composition and oxidative stability of flax, safflower and poppy seed and seed oils

Three seeds of Turkish origin, flax, poppy and safflower were analyzed for their proximate, fatty acids, tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols) and total phenolic composition, and oxidative stability of their oil. The major fatty acid in the flax oil was alpha-linolenic acid, comprising 58.3% of total fatty acids, whereas poppy and safflower oils were rich in linoleic acid at 74.5% and 70.5% level, respectively. The amount of total tocols was 14.6 mg/100g flax, 11.0mg/100g poppy and 12.1mg/100g safflower seed. Flax and poppy oil were rich in gamma-tocopherol as 79.4 mg/100g oil and 30.9 mg/100g oil, respectively, while alpha-tocopherol (44.1g/100g oil) was dominant in safflower oil. Only alpha- and gamma-tocotrienol were found in the oils. Oxidative stability of oils was measured at 110 degrees C at the rate of 20 L/h air flow rate, and poppy oil (5.56 h) was most stabile oil followed by safflower oil (2.87 h) and flax oil (1.57). There were no correlation between oxidative stability and unsaturation degree of fatty acids and tocol levels of the oils. All of the seeds investigated provide a healthy oil profile and may have potential as a source of specialty oils on a commercial scale.