Abstract
The fatty acid composition of the seed oil has been used as a criterion in searching for a rational infrageneric classification ofLinum L.. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the taxonomic potential of other seed traits such as tocopherols and plastochromanol-8 in this genus. The results revealed that, in addition to fatty acids, tocopherols and plastochromanol-8 possess an important chemotaxonomic value for the genusLinum. Sect.Linum and sect.Syllinum Griseb. clearly differed from each other for the three types of compounds. Sect.Linum was characterized by the presence of plastochromanol-8, a high concentration of linolenic acid, and an intermediate or low concentration of alpha-tocopherol. Contrarily, sect.Syllinum lacked plastochromanol-8 and contained a low concentration of linolenic acid and a high concentration of alpha-tocopherol. The three species evaluated of the sectionLinastrum (Planch.) Bentham showed no common pattern, questioning their classification within the same section.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Diederichsen A., Hammer K. (1995) Variation of cultivated flax (Linum usitatissimum L. subsp.usitatissimum) and its wild progenitor pale flax (subsp.angustifolium (Huds.) Thell.). Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 42: 263–272.
Froment M. A., Smith J. M., Turley D., Booth E. J., Kightley S. P. J. (1998) Fatty acid profiles in the seed oil of linseed and fibre flax cultivars (Linum usitatissimum) grown in England and Scotland. Ann. Appl. Biol. 132 (Suppl.): 60–61.
Gill K. S., Yermanos D. M. (1967) Cytogenetic studies on the genusLinum. I. Hybrids among taxa with 15 as the haploid chromosome number. Crop Sci. 7: 623–627.
Goffman F. D., Thies W., Velasco L. (1999) Chemotaxonomic value of tocopherols in Brassicaceae. Phytochem. 50: 793–798.
Green A. G., Marshall D. R. (1981) Variation for oil quantity and quality in linseed (Linum usitatissimum). Aust. J. Agric. Res. 32: 599–607.
Harris B. D. (1968) Chromosome numbers and evolution in North American species ofLinum. Am. J. Bot. 55: 1197–1204.
Helbaek H. (1959) Domestication of food plants in the Old World. Science 130: 365–372.
Hjelmqvist H. (1950) The flax weeds and the origin of cultivated flax. Botaniska Notiser 2: 257–298.
Kulpa W., Danert S. (1962) Zur Systematik vonLinum usitatissimum L. Kulturpflanze (Beiheft 3): 341–388.
Leerbeck E., Søndergaard E., Dam H. (1967) Occurrence of a plastochromanol in Linseed oil. Acta Chem. Scand. 21: 2582.
Mayer H., Metzger J., Isler O. (1967) Die Stereochemie von natürlichenγ-Tocotrienol (Plastochromanol-3), Plastochromanol-8 und Plastochromenol-8. Helvetica Chimica Acta 50: 1376–1393.
Nicholls M. S. (1986) Variation and evolution inLinum tenuifolium (Linaceae). Plant Syst. Evol. 153: 243–258.
Ockendon D. J., Walters S. M. (1968)Linum. In: Tutin T. G. et al. (eds.) Flora Europaea, Vol. 3, pp. 206–211.
Olejnik D., Gogolewski M., Nogala-Kalucka M. (1997) Isolation and some properties of plastochromanol-8. Nahrung 41: 101–104.
Oomah B. D., Kenaschuk E. O., Mazza G. (1997) Tocopherols in flaxseed. J. Agric. Food Chem. 45: 2076–2080.
Plessers A. G. (1966) The variation in fatty acid composition of the seed ofLinum species. Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 8: 328–335.
Ray C. (1944) Cytological studies on the flax genus (Linum). Am. J. Bot. 31: 241–248.
Rogers C. M. (1972) The taxonomic significance of the fatty acid content of seeds ofLinum. Brittonia 24: 415–419.
Rogers C. M., Xavier K. S. (1971) Pollen morphology as an aid in determining relationships among some widely separated Old World species ofLinum. Grana 11: 55–57.
Rogers C. M., Xavier K. S. (1972) Parallel evolution in pollen structure inLinum. Grana 12: 41–46.
Seetharam A. (1972) Interspecific hybridization inLinum. Euphytica 21: 489–495.
Thies W. (1971) Schnelle und einfache Analysen der Fettsäurezusammensetzung in einzelnen Raps-Kotyledonen I. Gaschromatographische und papierchromatographische Methoden. Z. Pflanzenzüchtg. 65: 181–202.
Thies W. (1997) Entwicklung von Ausgangsmaterial mit erhöhten alpha- oder gamma-Tocopherol-Gehalten im Samenöl für die Körnerraps-Züchtung. I. Quantitative Bestimmung der Tocopherole durch HPLC. Angew. Bot. 71: 62–67.
Velasco L., Goffman F. D. (1999a) Tocopherol and fatty acid composition of twenty-five species of Onagraceae Juss. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 129: 359–366.
Velasco L., Goffman F. D. (1999b) Chemotaxonomic significance of fatty acids and tocopherols in Boraginaceae. Phytochem. 52: 423–426.
Winkler H. (1931) Linaceae. In: Engler A., Harms H. (eds.) Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, vol. 19a. Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, pp. 82–130.
Yermanos D. M. (1966) Variability in seed oil composition of 43Linum species. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 43: 546–549.
Yermanos D. M., Beard B. H., Gill K. S., Anderson M. P. (1966) Fatty acid composition of seed oil of wild species ofLinum. Agron. J. 58: 30–32.
Yuzepchuk S. V. (1986) Family LXXXI. Linaceae Dumort. In: Shishkin B. K., Bobrov E. G. (eds.) Flora of the U.S.S.R., Vol. XIV. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh and Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein, Germany. (English translation from the Russian edition of 1949).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Velasco, L., Goffman, F.D. Tocopherol, plastochromanol and fatty acid patterns in the genusLinum . Pl Syst Evol 221, 77–88 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01086382
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01086382