MEASUREMENT OF ALPHA-LINOLENIC ACID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDIBLE OIL FLAX

A thiobarbituric acid-gas liquid chromatograph combination procedure is described for rapid screening of individual or half-seeds of flax for α-linolenic acid (ALA) in the development of an edible oil flax. The thiobarbituric acid test may be used to screen as many as 1000 seeds in a single day. However, the test needs to be complemented by quantitative determination of fatty acids by gas chromatography. The latter technique has been used to analyze half-seed of flax. The combination has worked extremely well for the isolation of low ALA mutants of flax. © 1990 AOCS Press.