Variation in the Content of Cyanogenic Glycosides in Flaxseed Meal from Twenty-One Varieties

Flaxseed meal from twenty-one varieties has been evaluated for content of cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin, linustatin and neolinustatin). Varieties belonging to three different groups of productive attitude (oil, fiber and intermediate) were considered. The total content of cyanogenic glycosides ranged from 0.74 to 1.60 g?Kg-1 CN-. As expected, linamarin was a minority component accounting for only 2% - 14% of total glycosides. Linustatin resulted statistically lower in the intermediate group than in the other groups and, in particular, it was the lowest in the Festival variety. Neolinustatin resulted lower in the fiber group although the variety Ventimiglia (belonging to oil group) showed a negligible level of this compound. Neolinustatin was positively correlated to total cyanogenic glycosides (r = 0.709) and inversely correlated to linustatin (r = -0.326). The variability observed in the content of the various forms of glycosides could be exploited in breeding programs to reduce the content of these toxic compounds in flaxseed meal.