Use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Estimating Fatty Acid Composition in Intact Seeds of Rapeseed

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used as a rapid and nondestructive method to determine the fatty acid composition in intact seed samples of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). A total of 349 samples (about 2 g of intact seeds) were scanned in the reflectance mode of a scanning monochromator, and the reference values for fatty acid composition were measured by gas-liquid chromatography. Calibration equations for individual fatty acids were developed using the regression method of modified partial least-squares with internal cross validation (n = 249). The equations had low SECV (standard errors of cross-validation), and high R (coefficient of determination in calibration) values (> 0.8) except for palmitic and eicosenoic acid. Prediction of an external validation set (n = 100) showed significant correlation between reference values and NIRS estimated values based on the SEP (standard error of prediction), r (coefficient of determination in prediction), and the ratio of standard deviation (SD) of reference data to SEP. The models developed in this study had relatively higher values (> 3.0 and 0.9, respectively) of SD/SEP(C) and r for oleic, linoleic, and erucic acid, characterizing those equations as having good quantitative information. The results indicated that NIRS could be used to rapidly determine the fatty acid composition in rapeseed seeds in the breeding programs for high quality rapeseed oil.