New Oilseed Crops on the Horizon!
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New Oilseed Crops on the Horizon!: L. H. PRINCEN2 Fats and oils for food uses are now plentiful on a worldwide basis. Tallow, lard and fish oils, as well as vegetable oils, such as those derived from soybean, sun 1\ flower, palm, rapeseed, peanut and cottonseed, are often overproduced. Although many ofthese products are also used for industrial chemicals, they often are not [ ofthe most favorable composition for nonfood applications. A search for new oil 1\ seed crops with more advantageous oil composition has led to the development of l- excellent candidates that are now close to commercial acceptance. Among them are Crambe, Limnanthes, Vernonia, Sapium and Simmondsia. Other crops are at a much lower stage ofdevelopment but also have excellent potential. They include Cuphea, Foeniculum, Stokesia, Lesquerella and Lunaria. In this age ofsearching for renewable resources to replace petrochemicals and importedstrategic materials, c a well-organized research and development program on new oilseed crops could u soon result in American self-sufficiency for industrial oils andfatty acids. c Animal fats and vegetable oils make up an important part of the world's ag t ricultural production. Previous papers in this symposium have shown their eco a nomic impact from production through utilization. Although through the ages fats and oils have been produced mainly for food purposes, even centuries ago many also found use in such items as lubricants and greases, paints, soaps, lamp a oil and candles. Today, in the era ofpetrochemicals, fats and oils still playa major ( role in the production ofnonfood materials (Pryde, 1979). For example, in paints t and other coatings, where water-based latex systems have replaced much of the traditional vegetable oil-based paint market, approximately one-third ofthe bind ers used is still based on vegetable oils or their derivatives. Also, the surfactant I industry still uses large quantities of fatty acids, derived from fats and oils, for f the production of soaps and detergents. ~ Fats and oils are generally overproduced on a worldwide basis and prices for most are low. Much research and development has been carried out to discover new industrial uses for surplus fats and oils or their fatty acids. Although inroads have been made on several fronts, one drawback has been the limited variation that is available in the chemical composition of commercial fats and oils. They are primarily triglycerides incorporating relatively few types of fatty acids, with CIS acids predominating. The major acids available commercially vary in chain length from 12-18 carbon atoms and are either saturated, monounsaturated or diunsaturated (Table 1). The only exceptions in major commercial seed oils are linseed (methyl-interrupted triene), tung (conjugated triene), castor (hydroxy fatty acid) and high-erucic rapeseed oil (long-chain fatty acid). High-erucic rapeseed I Received 15 March 1983; accepted 28 April 1983. Presented at the Symposium on the United States Oilseed Industry from Germplasm to Utilization at the Twenty-third Annual Meeting ofthe Society for Economic Botany, University ofAlabama, 14 16 June 1982; symposium organized by Pr. L. H. Princen. 2 Northern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Peoria, IL 61604. The ~ mention offirm names or trade products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the USDA over other firms or similar products not mentioned. Economic Botany, 37(4), 1983, pp. 478-492 © 1983, by the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458 1983] PRINCEN: OILSEED CROPS 479 TABLE 1. MAJOR COMMERCIAL ACIDS FROM FATS AND OILS. Class Acid Source Saturated CIl (lauric) Coconut C'6 (palmitic) Oil palm C 18 (stearic) Tallow, hydrogenated oils Monounsaturated C ,8 (oleic) Olive, tall oils C22 (erucic) Rapeseed Diunsaturated C'8 (linoleic) Sunflower, soybean Multiunsaturated C 18 (I8:3) Linseed, tung, fish Hydroxy C'8 (ricinoleic) Castor oil has become scarce since the development oflow-erucic rapeseed, which is now used predominantly for food. In 1957, USDA started a screening program to search for oilseed plants that could be developed to new crops (Wolff and Jones, 1958). The reasons were: (1) to alleviate the problems of overproduction of major agricultural commodities, and (2) to provide new opportunities for the chemical industry to use domestically produced raw materials in lieu of petroleum-based or other imported commod ities. Since then, the Northern Regional Research Center (NRRC) has screened about 8,000 species ofplants for their potential as future oilseed crops. The wealth of information gained in this program is unequalled. Scientists discovered more than 75 new fatty acids that were unknown before from any source. Some ofthese acid classes are presented in Table 2. They found high levels ofknown and newly discovered fatty acids in plant species that had never before been considered as potential producers. They also found new classes oflipids with properties differing from the conventional triglycerides. These classes included cyanolipids, aceto glycerides, glycolipids, tetra- and penta-acyl glycerides and terpenoid esters. In cooperation with plant scientists, USDA further evaluated many ofthe more promising species for botanical characteristics and agronomical potential in a preliminary screening program. Several of the better plant species were then selected for further research and development. Additional germplasm was ac- TABLE 2. FATTY ACIDS DISCOVERED IN NRRC SCREENING PROGRAM. Class Examples Monounsaturated ~3, ~5, ~6, ~ll, ~17 Diunsaturated ~5-~13, allenic (-C=C=C-) Multiunsaturated Conjugated tri- and tetraenes Acetylenic ~6, ~9, ene-yne Hydroxy (C,s and C20) a-OH, diene-OH, di- and tri-OH, 9-0H-~12C18 Epoxy (C'8 and C20) Monoene-epoxy Keto (C'8-C29) Monoene through tetraene + k\1to Unusual chainlength C,-C'2' C20-C28 Cyclic Propane, propene, pentanyl Other Anacardic acid analogs 480 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 37 quired and grown for seed increase, and selections of superior strains were made. At that point, plant breeders and agronomists could go to work to upgrade the wild germplasm to useful crop material and to develop the appropriate cultural practices necessary for optimization ofyields and product quality. Also, chemists and chemical engineers could start their studies on developing the processing parameters needed for optimum oil and meal yields and properties, and on uti lizing these products in existing or new technological applications. This effort has resulted in a series of new prospective oilseed crops that are now in various stages ofdevelopment. Some are close to commercialization. The status ofthe more advanced or potentially good crop species is highlighted below by product classes. LONG-CHAIN FATTY ACID CROPS Erucic acid (Cn :113c) has been the major commercial long-chain fatty acid and is used in various forms for the production of lubricants, plasticizers, slip agents, and foam suppressants. It has traditionally come from imported rapeseed oil (Brassica spp.). However, during the past decade high-erucic rapeseed oil has become increasingly scarce, after producing countries switched to the low-erucic lines developed in Canada. The USDA new crops program strongly emphasized the development of alternate crops for domestic production of long-chain fatty acids. Most work has been done on crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst. ex R.E. Fries) and meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba Hartw.), although other potential can didates have been identified. Crambe This species (c. abyssinica) has received the most research attention and is close to commercialization. It belongs to the Cruciferae, is closely related chem ically to the genus Brassica and hails from countries around the Mediterranean Sea. It has a short growing season (90-100 days), and its dehulled seed contains 40% or more oil with high erucic acid content. With hulls intact, the seed contains typically 30% oil. Whereas classical rapeseed oils contain from 40-50% erucic acid, crambe oil contains as much as 60%. Preliminary field trials showed that crambe grew and produced well wherever growth was attempted, from North Dakota to Texas and from Connecticut to California (Fig. 1). Additional germplasm collections were made and evaluated at Purdue University. Selection and breeding resulted in registration of3 cultivars ('Prophet,' 'Indy' and 'Myers'), and agronomic research results showed not only preferred farm practices but also double-cropping potential. Since Cruciferae are known to contain antinutritional glucosinolates in- vege tative and seed components alike, chemists and engineers had to develop pro cessing technologies to minimize their effects. Although low-glucosinolate rape seed lines have been developed, a similar approach to crambe is not likely to succeed soon because it lacks the required genetic diversity. Known physiological activities ofglucosinolates an,d their aglucon breakdown products include thyroid disturbance, liver and kidney damage, throat abscesses and appetite depression. Also, abortion in cattle has been suspected to be the result ofingesting glucosinolate products. It was discovered that some breakdown products, such as unsaturated 37 1983J PRINCEN: OILSEED CROPS 481 leo le al ts 19 J- re Ie w d s, il IS c d y s 1 S S Fig. 1-2. Fig. 1. Flowering Crambe abyssinica in large-field production near Culbertson, MT. Fig. 2. Experimental plots of Limnanthes alba at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. and episulfide nitriles, were much more toxic