A Comparison of Important Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Six Lallemantia iberica (Bieb.) Fisch. and Mey. Varieties

Lallemantia iberica seed contains up to 30% of a drying oil. Lallemantia iberica seed has traditional uses as reconstitute, stimulant, diuretic and expectorant. The aim of this study is to determine suitable varieties in term of oil content and oil quality. The Lallemantia iberica varieties investigated are Shahindej, Sanandaj, Shazand, Ahar, Dezphul and Myandoab. We were sure about seed`s freshness, because ourselves had been sowing and in researching field of Agricultural and Natural Sources Research Center of west Azerbaijan in Iran. Important characteristic of this varieties including: 1000-seed weight, oil content and fatty acid components were selected and measured. Weight measurements performed by balance with 0.0001 g sensitivity. The overall mean for 1000-seed weight was 4.87 g. Oil content based on dry seed was measured using extraction with Ether method and the grand mean was 28.05%. The mean amount of 1000-seed weight and specific fatty acids are meaningful at 1% level. Analysis of variance revealed the existence of significant variation for oil content at 1% level of significance. The mean amount of the five fatty acids namely Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic were 8.07, 2.48, 17.24, 17.33 and 51.22%, respectively, which were detected and measured by gas chromatography. According the results that obtained from our study it is clear that the variety of Shahindej has high (35.04%) oil content, is an appropriate variety for oil extraction, and the variety of Ahar contents high level of Linolenic acid (56.37%).