Allelopathic activiti of eastern galega seeds with oil crops

Relevanсe. The novelty of our research lies in the fact that for the first time the allelopathic interaction of eastern galega seeds with a wide range of oilseeds is being studied. The aim of this work is to study the allelopathic effect in the initial stages of plant ontogenesis. The objectives of the study were to identify cultures with a positive and negative impact on the growth and development of sprouts of eastern galega. The objects of research were eastern galega Magister, false saffron Alexandrite, saperda mustard Lux, spring rape Tavrion, hemp Nadezhda, spring cress Iskra, white mustard Lucia, abyssinian colewort Polet, ethiopian niger seed Medea, oil radish Fiolina, damascene fennelflower Yalita, hybrid sunflower P63 LE 10 (XF 3020), winter camelina Baron, spring camelina Velez, oilseed flax Istok. The experiments were carried out in two layouts in 2019–2020 on the basis of a separate division of the Federal research center for fiber crops in the Penza region.Methods. The evaluation of allelopathic activity was carried out using a method that involves the germination of plant seeds, followed by the calculation of the percentage of germination. The number of seeds and seedlings at different stages of ontogenesis was determined along with measuring the length of the root, stem and leaf.Results. At the initial stages of ontogenesis, a weak negative allelopathic effect on the eastern galega is exerted by the abyssinian colewort Polet — the number of fullfledged seedlings was -6,1% to the control. A positive effect on the germination and development of galega seedlings is exerted by damascene fennelflower Yalita (+8,3% to control), ethiopian niger seed Medea (+8,1 to control), oilseed flax Istok (+6,4% to control). In general, the length of the galega seedling was at the level of control with damascene fennelflower and ethiopian niger seed is 3,27 and 3,24 cm (-0,40 and 0,43 cm respectively). A significant decrease is observed in the variants with oilseed flax, spring camelina, winter camelina, spring rape, false saffron, sunflower, saperda mustard, white mustard, hemp, abyssinian colewort and spring cress — from 2,81 to 1,66 cm (-0,86–2,01 cm to control).

Fatty Acid Profile, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Niger Seed (Guizotia abyssinica) and Linseed (Linum usitatissimum)

Fatty acid composition and antioxidant content are major determinants of vegetable oil quality. Antioxidants are important food components, and there is an increasing interest of replacing synthetic antioxidants with those from natural sources for food industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate fatty acid composition, total phenolic, carotenoid and chlorophyll contents, and antioxidant capacity of different varieties of two oilseed crops. Five niger seed and eight linseed varieties were used. For the analysis of fatty acid composition of the seed oil, gas chromatography method was used. Standard methods were used for total phenolic, carotenoid and chlorophyll contents, and antioxidant properties. In niger seed oil, linoleic acid (C18:2) was the dominant fatty acid, accounting for 73.3% (variety Esete) to 76.8% (variety Ginchi) of the total fatty acids. In linseed oil, linolenic acid (C18:3) was the dominant fatty acid accounting for 55.7 (variety Chilalo) to 60.1 (variety Belaye-96). The total phenolic content ranged from 22.4 mg GAE/g (variety Esete) to 27.9 mg GAE/g (variety Ginchi) in niger seed and from 20.5 mg GAE/g (variety Belay-96) to 25.4 mg GAE/g (variety Ci-1525) in linseed. In niger seed, variety Fogera had the highest values for FRAP and radical scavenging activity. The carotenoid content also showed significant variation among the varieties ranging from 2.57 (Esete) to 8.08 (Kuyu) μmol/g for niger and 4.13 (Tole) to 8.66 (Belay-96) μmol/g for linseed. The FRAP assay showed that variety Fogera of niger seed and variety Chilalo of linseed came on top among their respective varieties with values of 57.2 and 30.6, respectively. Both niger seed and linseed were shown to be rich in bioactive compounds. However, significant variation was observed among the varieties of each crop and among the two crops in their total phenolic and carotenoid contents as well as ferric reducing potential and radical scavenging capacity. Principal component analysis revealed the presence of more than one group in both niger seed and linseed. Hence, genetic variation among the varieties should be utilized for improving their desirable characteristics through breeding. Both oil crops can be used as the source of antioxidants for replacing synthetic compounds.