Tree-to-tree variation in stearic and oleic acid content in seed fat from Allanblackia floribunda from wild stands: Potential for tree breeding

Alain R Atangana; Erik van der Vlis; Damase P Khasa; Dennis van Houten; Jean Beaulieu; Harrie Hendrickx

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.12.023

Tree-to-tree variation in stearic and oleic acid content in seed fat from Allanblackia floribunda from wild stands: Potential for tree breeding

Food Chem. 2011 Jun 15;126(4):1579-85. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.12.023. Epub 2010 Dec 13.

Authors

Alain R Atangana¹, Erik van der Vlis², Damase P Khasa³, Dennis van Houten², Jean Beaulieu⁴, Harrie Hendrickx²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Forest Research (CEF), Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics, Pavillon Marchand, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4. Electronic address: alain-rene.atangana.1@ulaval.ca.
² Unilever Research and Development Vlaardingen, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT, PO Box 114, 3130 AC Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
³ Center for Forest Research (CEF), Faculty of Forestry and Geomatics, Pavillon Marchand, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4.
⁴ Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, 1055, rue du P.E.P.S., PO Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1V 4C7.

PMID: 25213930
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.12.023

Abstract

We determined whether Allanblackia floribunda, a forest tree species that is valued for the fat extracted from its seeds, could be genetically improved for fruit/seed production by sampling 17-40 fruits from each of 70 trees that were distributed among four sites in wild stands. Fat was extracted from the seeds, and stearic and oleic acid content of the fat was estimated. Highly significant (P<0.0001) between- and within-tree variation characterised fruits and seed characters. Between-site phenotypic variation was not significant. Stearic and oleic acid percentages in seed fat ranged from 44.16% to 66.12%, and from 24.95% to 48.42% per tree sample, respectively. Moderate repeatabilities were identified in fruit characters and mean seed mass. Moderate positive relationships were found between stearic and oleic acid percentages. Seed fat profiles were not found to vary with other fruit characters. Twenty "plus trees" were selected for breeding.

Keywords: Allanblackia floribunda; Breeding; Oleic acid; Seed fat; Stearic acid; Variation.