Fatty acids and β-carotene in Australian purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) varieties

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A Vol. 893; no. 1; pp. 207 - 213
• Main Authors: Liu, Lixia, Howe, Peter, Zhou, Ye-Fang, Xu, Zhi-Qiang, Hocart, Charles, Zhang, Ren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 29.09.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; beta Carotene - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Carotenes; Chemical constitution; Chromatography, Gas; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Economic plant physiology; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - analysis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General pharmacology; Linolenic acid; Magnoliopsida - chemistry; Medical sciences; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Australia; Oceania; Linolenic acid; Fatty acids; Carotenes; Portulaca oleracea; Portulacaceae; Chemical analysis; Seeds; HPLC chromatography; Flame ionization detector; Derivatization; Stem; Medicinal plant; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Chemical composition; Intraspecific comparison; Fatty acid methyl ester; Quantitative analysis; Electron impact; Coupled method; Plant leaf; Esterification; Gas chromatography; Vegetable crop; Spermatophyta; Betacarotene; Carotenoid; Mass spectrometry
• ISSN: 0021-9673
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9673(00)00747-0

The fatty acid profile and β-carotene content of a number of Australian varieties of purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) were determined by GC and HPLC. The total fatty acid content ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 mg/g of fresh mass in leaves, 0.6 to 0.9 mg/g in stems and 80 to 170 mg/g in seeds. α-Linolenic acid (C 18:3ω3) accounted for around 60% and 40% of the total fatty acid content in leaves and seeds, respectively. Longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids were not detected. The β-carotene content ranged from 22 to 30 mg/g fresh mass in leaves. These results indicate that Australian purslane varieties are a rich source of α-linolenic acid and β-carotene.