title: [Possible uses of sunflower in proper human nutrition].
abstract: The sunflower is the main oil crop in Serbia and one of the four major oil crops on the global scale. The seed of commercial sunflower crops being grown today consists most commonly of 45-53% oil and 15-18% protein. Unfortunately, sunflower seed protein has traditionally been underused in the human diet in Serbia. The amino acid composition of sunflower protein is quite favorable. In addition to oil and protein, sunflower kernels contain tocopherols, minerals, and vitamins. The sunflower is also a major honey plant, as sunflower plants produce over 40 kg of nectar and over 80 kg of pollen per area unit (hectare) under normal circumstances. Standard sunflower oil is linoleic in character, but induced mutations have been used to obtain genotypes with a high-oleic acid content of the oil (> 85%), thus enabling the development of high-oleic sunflower hybrids. Induced mutations have also been used to obtain genotypes with high levels of palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acids. The predominant tocopherol in standard sunflower oil is the alpha one, but sunflower genotypes have now been developed using spontaneous and induced mutations that predominantly contain beta, gamma, and delta tocopherols. Various developments in the field of genetics have made it possible to develop sunflower hybrids with different oil profiles in terms of fatty acid composition and tocopherol type and amount. The thermo-oxidative stability of the new types of sunflower oil is significantly higher than that of standard sunflower oil. Of the new types of sunflower, it is the high-oleic hybrids that have found the widest application in commercial production. It is expected that the future sunflower hybrids combining high levels of oleic and stearic acids with gamma tocopherol will become a major component of a healthy human diet. The development of new consumption sunflower hybrids with an increased protein content and altered oil quality will lead to the development of a large number of novel final products based on sunflower kernel that willfurther improve human nutrition.
authors.affiliation: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, Ogranak u Novom Sadu, 21000 Novi Sad, Nikole Pasića 6. draganskoric@sbb.co.yu
authors.forename: Dragan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Skorić
mesh_terms: D006368:Helianthus / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009753:Nutritive Value; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D014674:Plant Proteins, Dietary / Q000032:analysis; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D000074242:Sunflower Oil
chemical_list: D010938:Plant Oils; D014674:Plant Proteins, Dietary; D000074242:Sunflower Oil