Assessment of Fatty Acid Composition Under Varied Environmental Conditions in Sunflower Hybrids (Helianthus Annuus. L)

Sunflower is emerging as one of the important source of edible oils due to heart friendly nature because of presence of high level of unsaturated fatty acids. It is a good source of essential fatty acid (Linoleic acid, 18:2) which plays a vital role in synthesis of prostaglandins that control various metabolic processes in the body. The major fatty acids present in sunflower are palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), oleic acid (18:1) and linoleic acid (18:2). The Oleic acid (18:1) is a monounsaturated fatty acid. It has cholesterol lowering effects similar to that of linoleic acid (18:2), but it does not reduce HDL (good cholesterol) as happens under high dietary levels of linoleic acid (Ghafoorunissa, 2002). High level of polyunsaturated fatty acid (Linoleic acid 18:2) though decreases blood pressure and cholesterol but increases HDL. Therfore, it is desirable to breed cultivars with oil having high oleic acid and moderate level of linoleic acid. The composition of fatty acids vary with varying environmental conditions (Singh et al, 2002, Rather et al, 1998). Thus an attempt has been made to assess fatty acid composition of the promising hybrids in the varied environmental conditions.