Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Nutritive values and seed chemical variability of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) populations

Author(s):

Sali Aliu *, Imer Rusinovci, Salih Salihu, Shukri Fetahu, Albina Kika, Dukagjin Zeka

Recieved Date: 2015-12-10, Accepted Date: 2016-03-30

Abstract:

Seeds from ten pumpkin landrace populations were evaluated for their protein, lipid and mineral composition. Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) populations were collected from different bio-climatic regions throughout Kosovo. They showed great diversity in morphological characteristics, particularly fruit weight and fruit shape. Differences in mineral content of seeds for all measured chemical elements were highly significant. Protein contents were also significantly different between seeds and ranged from 8.9 to 20.7%. Oil content was high in all seeds and varied from 26.7 to 40.1%. Fatty acids composition in seeds varied significantly among landrace populations. The oil with the highest content was linoleic acid followed by oleic acid. There were wide variations in the contents of oleic acid (17.7-51.6%), linoleic acid (30.9-51.8%), palmitic acid (10.8-14.4%), stearic acid (5.5-7.4%) and linolenic acid (0.08-0.27%) in the seed oil. These data on seed trait variability can assist breeders to identify landrace populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in variety breeding programs.

Keywords:

Cucurbita, diversity, oil content, protein content, fatty acids, mineral content

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2016
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Category: Food and Health
Pages: 28-33

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