Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius L.

Safflower is one of humanity's oldest crops but it generally has been grown on small plots for domestic use and remains a minor crop with a world seed production of about 800 000 t per year. This monograph overviews existing knowledge of the genus with emphasis on genetic resources. Chapters cover the following topics: taxonomy, nomenclature, centres of diversity, botany, production, genetics, uses, breeding, research priorities and constraints, collecting, and evaluation. Information on institutions holding safflower collections and undertaking research is also included. (Abstract © CAB ABSTRACTS, CAB International

Genetic Variation in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) for Seed Quality-Related Traits and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Markers

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an oilseed crop that is valued as a source of high quality vegetable oil. The genetic diversity of 16 safflower genotypes originated from different geographical regions of Iran and some with exotic origin were evaluated. Eight different seed quality-related traits including fatty acid composition of seed oil (stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid), the contents of, oil, protein, fiber and ash in its seeds, as well as 20 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphic primers were used in this study. Analysis of variance showed significant variation in genotypes for the seed quality-related traits. Based on ISSR markers, a total of 204 bands were amplified and 149 bands (about 70%) of these were polymorphic. Cluster analysis based on either biochemical or molecular markers classified the genotypes into four groups, showing some similarities between molecular and biochemical markers for evaluated genotypes. A logical similarity between the genotype clusters based on molecular data with their geographical origins was observed

Proceedings : Third International Safflower Conference, Beijing, China, June 14-18, 1993

Project number related to IDRC support could not be determinedCo-sponsored by IDRCMissing p.307-30

Repeated-Batch Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Juice by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Immobilized on Sweet Sorghum Stalks

Sweet sorghum stalks were used as a low cost carrier for immobilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae NP 01 to produce ethanol from sweet sorghum juice. The effects on ethanol production of carrier size (6 × 6 × 6 to 20 × 20 × 20 mm3) and initial cell concentrations (5 × 107 to 2 × 108 cells mL−1) for cell immobilization were investigated. The ethanol production medium was the juice containing 230 g L−1 of total sugar without nutrient supplementation. The fermentations were carried out under static conditions in 500-mL air-locked Erlenmeyer flasks at 30 °C. The results showed that the optimum size of sorghum stalk pieces for repeated-batch ethanol production was 6 × 6 × 6 mm3, while the optimum initial cell concentration for the immobilization was 1.0 × 108 cells mL−1. The immobilized yeast under these conditions could be used for at least eight successive batches without any losses of ethanol production efficiencies. The average ethanol concentration, productivity and yield of the eight successive batches were 99.28 ± 3.53 g L−1, 1.36 ± 0.05 g L−1 h−1 and 0.47 ± 0.03 g g−1, respectively

Novel safflower oil with high γ-tocopherol content has a high oxidative stability

Safflower oil, either with high linoleic acid or high oleic acid content, has a tocopherol profile dominated by α-tocopherol. Novel safflower germplasm that accumulates predominantly γ-tocopherol in seeds instead of α-tocopherol has been developed. The objective of this research was to evaluate the chemical properties and stability of safflower oil with high oleic acid and γ-tocopherol contents, produced by either mechanical pressing or solvent extraction from seeds of safflower line IASC-2. Safflower oil with high oleic acid and α-tocopherol contents from seeds of safflower line CR-6 was used as a control. Seeds of IASC-2 had low oil content (22.2% compared to 39.3%), which is the result of its wild origin. Oil samples showed only slight differences in the fatty acid profile and total tocopherol content. The predominant tocopherol form, either α- or γ, accounted in all cases for more than 95% of total tocopherols. Solvent extracted oils had more sterols than pressed oils, with oils from IASC-2 having higher sterol content than oils from CR-6. Major differences were observed for oil stability, measured with Rancimat. High γ-tocopherol pressed oil from IASC-2 had an induction period of 66.4h, compared to 38.0h for high α-tocopherol oil from CR-6, whereas solvent extracted oil from IASC-2 had an induction time of 121.0h, compared to 32.0h for oil from CR-6. Practical applications: Safflower oil, either with high oleic or high linoleic acid contents, has been traditionally valued as a healthy edible oil. The results of the present research indicated that the nearly complete replacement of α-tocopherol by γ-tocopherol has a great impact on enhancing oil oxidative stability. Oils with high oxidative stability are demanded for high temperature applications such as deep frying or biolubrication. Also, extended oxidative stability is required for biofuels. According to the results of this research, the novel safflower oil with high oleic acid and high γ-tocopherol content is more advantageous for such applications than safflower oils with high α-tocopherol content. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.The research was partly funded by Junta de Andalucía grant P07-AGR-03011Peer Reviewe