Dimorphotheca pluvialis

New oilseed crops, currently studied as potential sources of specialty fatty acids, include Crambe abyssinica for erucic acid, Limnanthes alba for very long-chain fatty acids, Dimorphotheca pluvialis for dimor-phecolic acid, Lesquerella fendleri for les-querolic acid, Calendula officinalis for calendic acid, and Euphorbia lagascae and various Vernonia species for vernolic acid.194 The lowest cost sources (inedible fats and oils and palm oil fractions) are likely most likely to be exhausted first as world trade in industrial applications grows. Cornstarch is becoming a major feedstock for plastics production. This may compete with potential oil uses, but also will increase production of com oil. 

Dimorphotheca The seed of Dimorphotheca pluvialis is not very rich in oil (13-28%, typically about 20%), but it contains an unusual Cjg hydroxy fatty acid ( 60%) with hydroxyl group adjacent (allylic) to a conjugated diene system. This is very unstable and easily dehydrates to a mixture of conjugated 18 3 acids (105). 

Oils containing hydroxy acids The only oil of significance containing a hydroxy acid is castor oil, but among the new crops being seriously developed are two that contain hydroxy acids. Lesquerella oils have some resemblance to castor oil, but Dimorphotheca pluvialis seed oil contains a different kind of hydroxy acid (see Section 6). 

Derksen, J.T.P. Krosse, A.M. Tassignon, P. Cuperus, F.P. Lipase-catalyzed production of functionalized fatty acids from Dimorphotheca pluvialis seed oil. Mededelingen van de Faculteit Landbouwwetenschappen, Universiteit Gent 1992, 57 (4a), 1741-1747. 

Breemhaar, H.G., and A. Bouman, Mechanical Harvesting and Cleaning of Calendula officinalis and Dimorphotheca pluvialis, Ind. Crops Prod. 3 281—284 (1995). 

Tassignon, P.S.G., Synthetic and Chemical Aspects in the Development of Dimorphotheca pluvialis as Industrial Crop, Ph.D. thesis. University of Ghent, Ghent, 1995. 

Lesquerella fendleri (4% in oil) Dimorphotheca pluvialis (62% in oil) Ipomoea purga (tubers)... 

Hayes, D.G., Kleiman, R., Weisleder, D., Adlof, R.O., Cuperus, F.P., Derksen, l.T.P, 1995b. Occurrence of estolides in processed Dimorphotheca pluvialis. Ind. Crops Prod. 4,295-301. 

Hof, L., Dolstra, O., 1999. Response to divergent mass selection for plant architecture and earliness and its effect on seed yield in Dimorphotheca pluvialis. Ind. Crops Prod. 10, 145-155. 

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