Variation in Oil, Protein Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Twelve Turkish Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) Lines

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) has two major products: alkaloids in the capsules and the seeds. The seed contains oil, protein, carbohydrate, moisture and mineral matters. The seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, particularly linoleic and oleic acid. Remaining meals after oil extraction are the important source for animal diets. The United Nations recognize Turkey and India as traditional poppy producing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the seeds of twelve different Turkish opium poppy lines for their protein, oil and fatty acids percentage.
The trial was carried out at the Experimental Fields of the Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture of Ankara University, Turkey during 2009-2010. The materials were collected from opium poppy collections in the department. All seeds were sown on 12 October 2009 and harvested during second week of July 2010. The oil was extracted and determined with hexane by foss soxtec 2055 apparatus. Fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography and the protein were determined by kjeldahl protein analyzer. Seed oil, protein and fatty acids percentage of twelve different lines were determined. Oil contents of seed lines ranged 40.96 - 50.88%. The major fatty acid in seed oils was linoleic acid (70.60– 76.65%) whereas oleic and palmitic acid contents of seed oils ranged from 12.08 -17,71% and from 7.92 – 8.80%, respectively. Protein content of opium poppy ranged 19.67 – 20.94%. In conclusion, those opium poppy lines can be major source of raw materials such as oil and protein.