Research paperThe importance of yellow horn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia) for restoration of arid habitats and production of bioactive seed oils

•Yellow horn is well adapted to desert and xeric habitats, and is an excellent prospect for alternative agricultural production and revegetation of arid regions as well as production of bioactive oils.•Both seed yield and oil content of bred pure lines are higher than those of unselected mixed lines.•Yellow horn seeds produce high-quality edible oils, in which unsaturated fatty acids predominate over saturated ones.•Yellow horn is an important solution to the increasing demand for bioactive oils, which are widely used in food, health and medical products.

Yellow horn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia) is a woody deciduous shrub or small tree native to northwest China that has been widely planted for bioactive oil production and ecological restoration. Ten years of field experiments indicate that yellow horn is well adapted to desert and xeric habitats of Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, China, and is an excellent prospect for alternative agricultural production and revegetation of arid regions as well as production of bioactive oils. In Horqin Sandy Lands, 7-11 year old unselected mixed lines averaged 152.30 kg/ha seeds, and selected pure lines averaged 1944.89 kg/ha, with average seed oil content of 25% and 34%, respectively. Seeds contain about 90% unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C20:1, C20:2, C20:5, C22:1 and C24:1) and 10% fatty acids comprised primarily of C16:0 and C18:0. Yellow horn seed oils are very high quality with low acid levels of 0.52 mg KOH/g (73% of which is unsaturated C18). Interestingly, the concentration of C24:1, an important bioactive compound is over 2%. Yellow horn is a unique plant species with potentially strong value for both ecological restoration of arid habitats and control of desertification, as well as an important and sustainable producer of high quality bioactive oils, which are used for food, healthy diets, and medical products.

Graphical abstractField experiments throughout 10 years indicate that yellow horn is well adapted to desert and xeric habitats of Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, China, and is an excellent prospect for alternative agricultural production and revegetation of arid regions as well as production of bioactive edible oils.Download high-res image (224KB)Download full-size image