Evaluation of fatty acid compositions and some seed characters of common wild plant species of Turkey

Seeds of 14 commonly found plant species from 3 different families (Brassicaceae, Dipsacaceae, and Asteraceae) were investigated for 1000-seed weights (g), total oil (%), total protein (%), total soluble sugar contents (TSS; mg g), and fatty acid compositions (%). Correlation coefficients of fatty acids from different families were investigated, as well. Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, eicosenoic, and erucic acids were present in varying amounts. Within the family Brassicaceae, only Cardaria draba did not contain eicosenoic and erucic acids, while species of the Asteraceae and Dipsacaceae did not contain linolenic, eicosenoic, or erucic acids. The 1000-seed weights ranged between 0.17 and 32.71 g among the examined species. Species from Brassicaceae generally had high oil content, with the exception of C. draba. The highest oil content was found in Boreava orientalis (36.87%). Total protein content was higher in members of families Brassicaceae and Dipsacaceae than in Asteraceae, and total protein content was found to be between 9.4% and 32.6%. TSS contents of seeds varied widely, ranging from 4.98 to 26.65 mg g. Palmitic and stearic acid contents of the species showed significant positive correlations, but erucic acid content negatively correlated with both linoleic and linolenic acids in Brassicaceae. Significant negative correlations were found between linolenic acid to both palmitic and oleic acids in Asteraceae and Dipsacaceae. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of seed quality parameters, as well as oil and seed yield, to detect promising genotypes of selected species.