Note: * mean significant different at 0.05 level; ** mean significant different at 0.01 level.
Correlation Analysis
Analysis of the correlation between the seed kernel oil content and the main fatty acid fractions ofA. truncatum (Table 5) showed that the seed kernel oil content showed highly significant negative correlation with palmitic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, erucic acid and neuronic acid, with the correlation coefficients of -0.482, -0.404, -0.406, and -0.527, and significant negative correlation with oleic and linoleic acid, with the correlation coefficients of -0.265, -0.246, and the correlation with the rest of the fatty acids was not significant, -0.246, and the correlation with the rest of the fatty acid components was not significant, which indicates that as the oil content of the seed kernel increases, the increment of unsaturated fatty acids is significantly higher than that of saturated fatty acids, implying that the higher the oil content of the seed kernel, the higher its food value; saturated fatty acids compared with unsaturated fatty acids, although the two saturated fatty acids of stearic acid and palmitic acid showed a highly significant positive correlation with the rest of which were the main fatty acid components. Although the two saturated fatty acids, stearic acid and palmitic acid, showed a highly significant positive correlation with the other major fatty acid fractions, the average content of these two fatty acids only accounted for 5.14% of the total fatty acids, while the unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, erucic acid, and neuronic acid, accounted for 65.87% of the total fatty acids, and the correlations between the unsaturated fatty acids also showed a highly significant positive correlation. The correlation between unsaturated fatty acids also showed highly significant positive correlation. Combined with the results of the analysis of the correlation between the oil content of the seed kernel and the main fatty acid fractions, it can be seen that the increment in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was significantly higher than that of the saturated fatty acids, which indicated that it was of great significance for the development and utilization of the edible value of A. truncatum seed oil.
Table 5. Correlation analysis between seed kernel oil content and main fatty acid components of Acer truncatum