Oil and protein quality of groundnut mutants

Variability in oil quality was observed in four groundnut mutants (TG-1, TG-3, TG-14, TG-16) induced by -irradiation. The fatty acid composition of the mutants differed from their parent Spanish Improved. All the mutants had lower linoleic and higher oleic acid than the parent Spanish Improved. TG-3 and TG-14 had substantially higher linoleic acid and lower oleic acid as compared with TG-1 and TG-16. Other fatty acids also showed minor variation amongst mutants and Spanish Improved. The ratio of oleic to linoleic acid, which is an index of oil stability, was 2.7 and 3.3 fold respectively in TG-16 and TG-1 as compared with Spanish Improved.Protein percent in TG-1, TG-14 and TG-16 was higher than in Spanish Improved. Amino acid analysis of protein from mutants indicated decreases in methionine and cystine and an increase in tryptophan as compared with Spanish Improved. Other amino acids did not show any major variation between the mutants and Spanish Improved. In all varieties except TG-16, lysine was the first limiting amino acid; threonine was second limiting in all mutants. The essential amino acid content per kernel was higher in mutants than in Spanish Improved.