Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use

Gimeno-Martínez, David; Igual, Marta; García-Segovia, Purificación; Martínez-Monzó, Javier; Navarro-Rocha, Juliana

doi:10.3390/Foods2023-15515

Open AccessProceeding Paper

Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use^†

by

David Gimeno-Martínez

¹

,

Marta Igual

²

,

Purificación García-Segovia

²

,

Javier Martínez-Monzó

²

and

Juliana Navarro-Rocha

^1,*

¹

Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain

²

i-Food Group, Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería de Alimentos-FoodUPV, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46021 Valencia, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Presented at the 4th International Electronic Conference on Foods, 15–30 October 2023; Available online: https://foods2023.sciforum.net/.

Biol. Life Sci. Forum 2023, 26(1), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2023-15515

Published: 31 October 2023

(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 4th International Electronic Conference on Foods)

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Abstract

:

Five varieties of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; Futura 75, Futura 83, Felina 32, Earlina 08 FC and Henola) were planted to produce grain and then to study their potential as an alternative source of nutritional compounds due to their fat, carbohydrate and protein content. The lipid fraction can account for 35% of the total composition of hemp seeds; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine their fat content, focusing mainly on the characterisation of the fatty acid profile of the different varieties of hemp seeds through gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector for possible use of the whole grains or the oil extracted from them. The fat content of the seeds ranged between 23 and 31% of the total composition, with Earlina 08 FC significantly (p < 0.05) being the richest in fat content. We also found that 87% of the total fatty acids were unsaturated, being polyunsaturated acids the main group and linoleic acid the most abundant fatty acid. In addition, linoleic acid acts as a precursor of biologically active molecules involved in many physiological processes. Thus, hemp seeds may be considered a valuable source of healthy fatty acids to include in plant-based food formulation, regarding that further studies are being conducted to characterise other nutritional components.

Keywords:

fat; hemp seeds; fat acids profile

1. Introduction

Industrial hemp has been cultivated since ancient times for different purposes, but currently, food production is a prospective direction for hemp seeds, mainly due to their high nutritional value. Hemp seeds have a fairly balanced food matrix in terms of their composition of protein, carbohydrates, fibre and other nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and antioxidants [1]. However, they are considered oilseeds since fat is the most represented component, ranging between 25 and 35% of dry matter depending on the variety studied and the environmental conditions [1,2]. Although there is some scientific information available concerning this topic [1,3,4] and hemp supplementation of food [5], the diversity of industrial hemp seed cultivars requires research to understand which variety exerts a better yield in terms of seed production and the nutritional quality of particular food-derived ingredients, such as fat content, to enhance the production of such components from the seed.

Thus, the aim of this study was to characterise the lipid fraction of different varieties of hemp seeds for potential food use of the whole grain or the oil extracted from them.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Raw Materials

Five hemp varieties (Futura 75, Futura 83, Felina 32, Earlina 08 FC and Henola), included in the EU common catalogue of plant species, were chosen to carry out this study due to their good field adaptation and productivity. The seeds used as starting material were supplied by Trichome Pharma (Madrid, Spain) for research purposes only. Before planting, commercial seeds were disinfected with NaClO 0.58% for 5 min and rinsed with distilled water. Once the crop was fully developed, the seed was collected by variety, and within a representative sampling of 10 m², the harvested seeds were manually and mechanically cleaned to eliminate other plant material. Finally, hemp seeds were lyophilised prior to chemical analysis and stored at 4 °C.

2.2. Determination of Lipid Content and Fatty Acids Profile

Total fat content was determined by acid hydrolysis following the procedure similar to AOAC 922.06 [6].

The fatty acid (FA) profile of the freeze-dried seeds was determined in a Bruker Scion 436 gas chromatograph with flame ionisation detector (Bruker, Billerica, MA, USA) equipped with a CP-8400 autosampler and an SP-2560 capillary column (100 m × 0.25 mm × 0.2 μm) (Supelco, Saint Louis, MO, USA) according to Rufino-Moya et al. (2022) [7]. Briefly, 1 μL was injected with a split relation 1:125 at 280 °C; the oven temperature was set at 125 °C for 15 min and reached 190 °C at 90 min at 5 °C/min. C19:0 was used as an internal standard in the extraction of FA methyl esters (FAME) and identifications were based on FAME retention times, which were compared with those of the standard mixtures GLC-532, GLC-401, GLC-643 and GLC-642 (Nu-Chek Prep, Elysian, MN, USA). Quantification was performed as described in ISO 12966-4:2015 [8].

2.3. Statistical Analysis

Analysis of variance (ANOVA), with a confidence level of 95% (p < 0.05), using Statgraphics Centurion version 18.1.13 (STSC, Rockville, MD, USA) was applied to evaluate the differences among samples for each analysed compound. LSD post hoc test was used to determine significant differences (p < 0.05).

3. Results and Discussion

The fat content of industrial hemp seeds makes the study of its fatty acid profile interesting [1]. Table 1 shows the fat content of the five varieties studied and their fatty acid profile. The fat content of hemp seeds ranged from 23 to 31% of the total composition. There are significant (p < 0.05) differences between them, with Earlina 08 FC being the variety with the highest fat content (p < 0.05) and Futura 75 the one with the lowest. Looking at the fatty acid profile shown in Table 1, linoleic acid (LA) (C18:2 n6) is the major fatty acid in hemp seeds, in agreement with other works [1,2,3,4,9,10]. Like other studies for hemp seed, this fatty acid is approximately 55% of the total fatty acids [1,2,3,4,10]. When comparing the linoleic acid content of the five varieties studied, no significant (p > 0.05) differences were observed; however, Henola showed a significantly (p < 0.05) lower content than Felina 32 and Earlina 08 FC. LA is of great importance in the correct maintenance of human health since it is a precursor of the biologically active molecules involved in different physiological processes [1]. The following major fatty acids were linolenic acid (ALA) (C18:3 n3) and oleic acid (OA) (C18:1 9c), ranging from 13 to 15% and 12 to 15% of the total fatty acids, respectively. Similar ranges were generally obtained for hemp seeds by other authors [9]. Earlina 08 FC and Henola showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher values of linolenic acid than the other varieties studied. The lowest linolenic acid content was found in Futura 83. However, Futura 75 showed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher oleic acid content than Felina 32, Earlina 08 FC and Henola. On the other hand, the lipid fraction was low in saturated fatty acids, which consisted mainly of palmitic (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) in amounts of approximately 50 mg/g, with palmitic acid as the predominant saturated fatty acid. These values are in the range observed by other works [9]. Futura 83 had the lowest values for these two saturated fatty acids compared to the other varieties.

Fatty acids are classified according to their chemical structure. Figure 1 shows the content of FAs grouped into saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) FAs in the hemp seeds studied. The five varieties studied showed no significant (p > 0.05) differences in their total FA content. Between 71.5 and 74.7 percent of the FAs are PUFAs in the hemp seeds studied. Earlina 8 FC showed the highest PUFA content without showing significant (p > 0.05) differences with Felina but did show significant (p < 0.05) differences with the other varieties studied. In the case of MUFAs, their value corresponds to 13.4–16.4% of total FAs. Overall, a high content of unsaturated fat in relation to total fat is obtained (87.23–88.1%). The content of SFAs in relation to total FAs was between 11.90 and 12.77%. Futura 83 showed a significantly (p < 0.05) lower SFA content than the other varieties.

According to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 116/2010 of 9 February 2010 [11], which amends the Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the list of nutrition claims [12], the hemp seeds studied may be considered as “high polyunsaturated fat” and “high unsaturated fat” due to their high content of PUFAs.

4. Conclusions

Hemp grain is a valuable vegetable source of healthy fatty acids, so food products manufactured including a certain quantity of hemp seed could be considered as “high polyunsaturated fat” according to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 116/2010 of 9 February 2010. Looking for possible food uses of the grain-derived products rather than of the whole seed, research is being developed in the extraction of hemp seed oil regarding the substitution of other seed or nuts oils in food production. Finally, regarding the complexity of the matrix, further analysis is being conducted to characterise other remarkable food components such as protein and fibre to better evaluate the potential addition of hemp grain in the formulation of plant-based products.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation, M.I. and J.N.-R.; data curation, D.G.-M., M.I. and J.N.-R.; writing—original draft preparation, D.G.-M. and M.I.; writing—review and editing, P.G.-S., J.M.-M., M.I. and J.N.-R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Off. J. Eur. Union 2006, 404, 9–25.

Figure 1. Mean values and standard deviations (error bars) of fatty acids (FAs). For each FA group, small letters indicate homogeneous groups established by ANOVA (p < 0.05) by comparing hemp seeds. For each kind of hemp seed, capital letters indicate homogeneous groups established by ANOVA (p < 0.05) by comparing FA groups. Total: total sum of FA; SFA: sum of saturated fatty acids; MUFA: sum of monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFA: sum of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Table 1. Mean values (and standard deviations) of lipid (g/100g) and fatty acids (mg/g) content of hemp seeds.

Sample	Futura 75	Futura 83	Felina 32	Earlina 08 FC	Henola
Lipid	23.09 (0.15) ^d	24.44 (0.12) ^c	25.8 (0.2) ^b	30.9 (0.3) ^a	26.1 (0.5) ^b
C12:0	0.0187 (0.0002) ^b	0.0173 (0.0012) ^bc	0.0207 (0.0008) ^a	0.01657 (0.00013) ^c	0.0140 (0.0004)^d
C14:0	0.2446 (0.0014) ^b	0.2335 (0.0005) ^bc	0.242 (0.014) ^b	0.266 (0.002) ^a	0.2207 (0.0007) ^c
C15:0	0.0990 (0.0012) ^a	0.0956 (0.0007) ^a	0.097 (0.007) ^a	0.102 (0.012) ^a	0.0778 (0.0015) ^b
C16:0	35.22 (0.03) ^b	35.1 (0.4) ^b	37.5 (1.3) ^a	35.8 (0.5) ^ab	37.40 (0.17) ^a
C16:1-9c	0.526 (0.009) ^ab	0.494 (0.012) ^b	0.54 (0.03) ^a	0.516 (0.002) ^ab	0.517 (0.003) ^ab
C17:0	0.332 (0.012) ^a	0.307 (0.0012^a	0.34 (0.05) ^a	0.37 (0.03) ^a	0.30 (0.06) ^a
C18:0	13.47 (0.12) ^a	12.58 (0.08) ^b	12.8 (0.3) ^ab	12.76 (0.09) ^b	12.8 (0.5) ^ab
C18:1 9c	64.2 (0.5) ^a	61.5 (1.3) ^ab	59.4 (3.0) ^bc	52.5 (0.8)^d	56.120 (0.014) ^cd
C18:1 11c	5.36 (0.03) ^a	5.09 (0.08) ^ab	5.3 (0.3) ^a	5.17 (0.05) ^ab	4.88 (0.02) ^b
C18:2 n6	243.2 (0.3) ^ab	239 (6) ^ab	248 (10) ^a	249 (2) ^a	231.6 (0.2) ^b
C18:3 n6	8.69 (0.12) ^c	8.711 (0.008) ^c	10.2 (0.2) ^b	13.4 (0.3) ^a	7.0 (0.2)^d
C20:0	2.60 (0.02) ^b	2.44 (0.04) ^c	2.65 (0.05) ^ab	2.77 (0.04) ^a	2.58 (0.12) ^bc
C18:3 n3	58.7 (0.4) ^c	55.8 (1.2)^d	63.1 (1.2) ^b	67.1 (0.8) ^a	66.3 (1.2) ^a
C20:1	1.368 (0.012) ^ab	1.35 (0.04) ^b	1.43 (0.05) ^a	1.428 (0.008) ^a	1.418 (0.002) ^ab
C18:4 n3	2.03 (0.06) ^c	1.95 (0.03) ^c	2.47 (0.03) ^b	3.45 (0.07) ^a	1.97 (0.14) ^c
C21:0	0.028 (0.005) ^ab	0.0223 (0.0008) ^b	0.025 (0.004) ^b	0.036 (0.004) ^a	0.0277 (0.0008) ^ab
C22:0	0.70 (0.03) ^a	0.636 (0.013) ^a	0.66 (0.03) ^a	0.702 (0.003) ^a	0.61 (0.08) ^a
C22:1	0.064 (0.005) ^a	0.053 (0.003) ^c	0.063 (0.002) ^ab	0.0582 (0.0004) ^abc	0.0572 (0.0014) ^bc
C23:0	0.0403 (0.0005) ^a	0.033 (0.004) ^ab	0.033 (0.013) ^ab	0.0226 (0.0012) ^b	0.0323 (0.0002) ^ab
C24:0	0.094 (0.002) ^bc	0.078 (0.013) ^c	0.103 (0.002) ^ab	0.117 (0.008) ^a	0.078 (0.008) ^c

The same letter in superscript within the row indicates homogeneous groups established by ANOVA (p < 0.05).

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Gimeno-Martínez, D.; Igual, M.; García-Segovia, P.; Martínez-Monzó, J.; Navarro-Rocha, J. Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use. Biol. Life Sci. Forum 2023, 26, 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2023-15515

AMA Style

Gimeno-Martínez D, Igual M, García-Segovia P, Martínez-Monzó J, Navarro-Rocha J. Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use. Biology and Life Sciences Forum. 2023; 26(1):89. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2023-15515

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gimeno-Martínez, David, Marta Igual, Purificación García-Segovia, Javier Martínez-Monzó, and Juliana Navarro-Rocha. 2023. "Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use" Biology and Life Sciences Forum 26, no. 1: 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2023-15515

APA Style

Gimeno-Martínez, D., Igual, M., García-Segovia, P., Martínez-Monzó, J., & Navarro-Rocha, J. (2023). Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use. Biology and Life Sciences Forum, 26(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2023-15515

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Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use^†

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Raw Materials

2.2. Determination of Lipid Content and Fatty Acids Profile

2.3. Statistical Analysis

3. Results and Discussion

4. Conclusions

Author Contributions

Funding

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed Consent Statement

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of Interest

References

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Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use †

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Raw Materials

2.2. Determination of Lipid Content and Fatty Acids Profile

2.3. Statistical Analysis

3. Results and Discussion

4. Conclusions

Author Contributions

Funding

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed Consent Statement

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of Interest

References

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

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Characterisation of the Fat Profile of Different Varieties of Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) for Food Use^†