Abstract

Characteristics and chemical composition of chaenomeles seeds and seed oil were investigated in samples of Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and a hybrid taxon (C. japonica x C. speciosa). The content of oil in the seeds was 6.1–16.8% based on dry weight, with an average value of 8.2%. The content of moisture in the seeds was 40–46%. The average iodine index of the seed oil was 98, and the acidity index was 2.4. Nine fatty acids were detected: erucic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, oleic acid, cis-11-eicosenoic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. The oil was rich in unsaturated fatty acids (89%), linoleic acid and oleic acid being the main types present. The amount of individual fatty acids varied from traces to 53% for linoleic acid. The ratio saturated/unsaturated fatty acid was very low (0.1). Chaenomeles seed oil could thus be useful in e.g. the food industry, if it were competitive from an economic viewpoint.