Gamma-linolenic and stearidonic acids from Moroccan Boraginaceae

Abstract

Seeds from 20 species belonging to Boraginaceae, subfamilies Boraginoideae and Heliotropioideae, were surveyed in a search for new sources of γ-linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA). Seed oil content ranged from 7.5% in Echium humile ssp. pycnanthum to 28.8% in Anchusa undulata. GLA ranged from 0.2% of total fatty acids in Heliotropium undulatum to 20.2% in Lithodora maroccana. This last species may be considered as new source of GLA. GLA content was also tested in other Lithodora species from the south east of Spain, to compare GLA percentages among related taxa. GLA amounts in all Echium species reached approximately 12%, in good agreement with previous findings in other European Echium species. SDA ranged from an absence in several Cynoglossum species to 16.2% in Echium humile ssp. pycnanthum, which may be considered as a new source of this fatty acid. © 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.