Quality evaluation of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivars

Abstract Safflower is a minor oilseed crop in Australia where the market is dominated by canola, cottonseed and sunflower. Safflower however offers an alternative oilseed crop in marginal areas. This study was designed to evaluate current safflower lines and to determine their potential value both for edible oil and meal for animal feed. Two sets of samples were analysed. The first was a collection of cultivars to test varietal differences. The second was two cultivars sown at two sites with different sowing rates and row spacings. Both sets were analysed for the important chemical components to show cultivar, site and sowing effects. Components tested included moisture content, oil content, meal protein, tocopherols, Rancimat induction time, total polyphenols and fatty acid profile of the oil. As the moisture content varied between 4-8%, with an average of 5%, all analyses were done on a dry basis to ensure consistency. Oil contents on the varietal trial varied from 27-40% indicating significant potential for cultivar improvement by plant selection. Protein in the oil-free meal ranged from 25-36% and showed similar variability to oil. Of particular interest was the range of oxidative stability results from 1.4 to 5.3 hours. This could be attributed to the different levels of antioxidants; polyphenols 74-212 mg/kg, tocopherols 320-650 mg/kg. Fatty acids would also contribute to oil stability with palmitic acid from 4.3-8.1% and linoleic acid from 75.2-83.7%. Ranges on all of the fatty acids are discussed. Site variation also contributed significantly to many of the chemical components. Oil content, oxidative stability, total polyphenols and tocopherols showed large differences between sites although protein levels and fatty acid differences between sites was not as large.