Seed oil and fatty acid composition in Capsicum spp.

The oil content and fatty acid composition of seed of 233 genebank accessions (total) of nine Capsicum species, and a single accession of Tubocapsicum anomalum, were determined. The physicochemical characteristics of oil extracted from seed of Capsicum annuum and Capsicum baccatum were also examined. Significant differences among mean values for seed oil content were detected among the cultivated Capsicum species. Oil content in seed of C. annuum var. annuum was significantly greater than that in seed of other cultivated species. Capsicum pubescens had the lowest average seed oil content. Among the non-cultivated taxa examined, seed of Capsicum galapagoense had the lowest oil content and T. anomalum the highest. Averages across the 5 cultivated taxa for the 4 principal fatty acids were 12.9%, 3.4%, 6.7% and 76.0% for C16:0 (palmitic), C18:0 (stearic), C18:1 (oleic) and C18:2 (linoleic), respectively. Linoleic acid was the principal fatty acid in all samples, with a high value of 81% in Capsicum chinense. Capsicum frutescens had the lowest percentage of total unsaturated fatty acids and T. anomalum the highest. In general, the oil content and fatty acid composition of seed of the wild taxa were similar to those of the cultivated species.