Fatty acids in eight varieties of canola Brassica napus L. recommended for cultivation in Parana State, Brazil.

This paper reports the contents of protein, fatty matter and fatty acid compositions of canola oil in eight varieties recommended for cultivation in Parana State, Brazil. analyses of fatty acid methyl esters were performed by gas chromatography. The contents of fatty matter and protein were in the range of 36.76 to 41.26% and 20.93 to 24.74%, respectively with significant differences between varieties from seeds. Palmitic acid (C16:0) was the predominant saturated fatty acid accounting for 50 to 70% of total saturated acids. Oleic acid (C18:1 omega 9) was the most abundant fatty acid from fatty matter, it was found in the range of 64.70 to 72.07%. Linolenic acid (C18:2 omega 6) was the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acid. Erucic acid (C22:1 omega 9) was found in the level of non detected to 1.80%.