EFFECT OF HARVESTING TIME ON HEMP
(Cannabis sativa L.) SEED OIL LIPID COMPOSITION
Silvia Marzocchia and Maria Fiorenza
Cabonia
aDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences and
Technologies, University of Bologna, Piazza
Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena (FC), Italy
E-mail address:
Silvia Marzocchi:silvia.marzocchi4@unibo.it
Maria Fiorenza Caboni:maria.caboni@unibo.it
*Corresponding author: Silvia Marzocchi,silvia.marzocchi4@unibo.it,
Fax number: +39 0547 382348
Abstract
The most common food using hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is hempseed
oil (HSO) because it is a rich source of nutrients and not nutrients
with nutritional and functional beneficial effects for human body.
Harvesting time can affect the quality of HSO, consequently the aim of
this study was to evaluate the composition of lipid fraction, fatty
acids, tocopherols and sterols, during ripening. Two cultivars,Futura 75 and Carmagnola , were collected at three ripening
stages during August and September 2015 and their lipid composition was
determined by analytical techniques. Among the fatty acid identified,
the linoleic acid was the preponderant, followed by oleic, α-linolenic
and palmitic acid. Linoleic:α-linolenic acid and
polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratios decreased and increased,
respectively, in both varieties with ripening. γ-tocopherol was the
preponderant tocopherol identified, Futura 75 showed the highest
content in the middle of maturation while Carmagnola at the
beginning. β-sitosterol was the predominant sterol identified in both
varieties, followed by campesterol, Δ5-avenasterol,
stigmasterol and Δ7-stigmasterol. Total sterol content
increased and decreased with ripening in Futura 75 andCarmagnola , respectively. The study confirms that ripening stage
affects the quality of hempseed oil, important parameter to consider for
hemp seed producers.
Keywords: Cannabis sativa L.; hempseed oil; fatty acids;
tocopherols; sterols