Chlorophylls rapeseed oils

The major pigments of rapeseed oil are the chlorophylls a and b, (Table 3.95). (Canola Council of Canada 1981 Niewiadomski etal., 1965) and their decomposition products pheophytin a and b. 

INTERACTIONS OF CHLOROPHYLL PIGMENTS WITH LIPIDS OF RAPESEED OIL. 473... 

Czechoslovak zero -erucic rapeseed oils were examined for the levels of chlorophyll pigments in dependence to glucosinolate content of the rapeseed and its technological processing. Chlorophyll pigment interactions with some other components of the oil were also followed. 

Crude Czechoslovak zero-erucic rapeseed oils contain 18 - 40 mg of chlorophyll pigments/kg of oil with pheophytin a predominating (up to 90% of total content). 

Tkachuk, R. et ah. Determination of chlorophyll in ground rapeseed using a modified near infrared reflectance spectrophotometer, J. Am. Oil Chm. Soc., 65, 381, 1988. 

Carotenoids and chlorophylls are the major lipochromes of vegetable oils. Cmde regular sunflower oil is not particularly rich in carotenoids (as palm oil is) or in chlorophylls (like rice bran, rapeseed, olive, and avocado oils). This gives cmde regular sunflower oil its light-amber color, turning to pale yellow upon the bleaching operation. 

Phospholipid contents are very similar (about 1 to 2% dry matter) in microbial, plant, and animal tissues. If the content of neutral lipids is low, phospholipids may account for 20 to 40% of lipid extracts (e.g., in marine invertebrates). In egg yolk, 23% of the total lipids are phospholipids and other polar lipids (Kuksis, 1985). On the contfary, in adipose tissue or in oilseeds, the content of phospholipids is between 1 and 3% of total lipids. In oilseeds rich in oil (such as in rapeseed), it is lower than in oilseed with lower oil content (such as soybeans) when the results are expressed in % oil content, but much the same if the content is expressed in terms of total dry matter of the oilseed. Phospholipids are mainly extracted by nonpolar solvents, together with other lipids, and are obtained in the crude oil. However, in the original material, phospholipids are primarily bound to proteins (e.g., in membranes) or may be bound to other tissue components for example, phospholipids interact with chlorophyll pigments, where they may form complexes between the magnesium ion of the chlorophyll molecule and the phospho group of the phospholipids. 

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