Fatty acids in seed oil of wild and cultivated rosehip (Rosa canina L.) from different locations in Serbia

Abstract

Rosehip (Rosa canina L.) seeds are rich in bioactive compounds and nutrients and hence with a great potential to be employed in production of functional foods. This work aimed to evaluate the fatty acid composition of seed oil from wild and cultivated rosehip collected at different locations in the Republic of Serbia. Unsaturated fatty acids were dominant in majority of seed oil samples, with linoleic (LA), α-linolenic (ALA) and oleic (OA) acids (24.53–46.68 %, 4.73–12.39 % and 3.89–13.82 %, respectively) as the most abundant ones. Based on the analyses of most dominant bands in Raman spectra of seeds (∼1265 and ∼1660 cm-1) characteristic for unsaturated fatty acids, ANOVA revealed significantly higher content in two seed samples (5SW and 10SC). Ratios of UFAs/ SFAs, ω-6/ω-3 and LA/ALA and desirable fatty acids (DFA) indicated that most studied rosehip seed oils showed good quality. Factors such as genetic characteristics and agro-ecological conditions most likely affected FAs composition of seed oils.