identified as a hub by major cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries for borage oil
production. The oil’s quality is directly associated to the GLA content, which ranged
from 18 to 35% depending on the growing conditions. The quality of borage seeds
grown in Central and South America is comparatively low due to low GLA content
(<20%), which could be due to less favourable agroclimatic conditions. Europe has
been witnessed to provide highest quality of borage oil (>25% GLA) and, therefore,
has huge demand by leading cosmetic and food supplement industries such as L’Oréal
and Unilever (Grand View Research 2016).
14.3 Proximate Composition
Till date, no literature is available on the proximate composition of borage seed
except for the oil content. It has been reported that borage seeds contain approximately 30–40% oil (Gomez and de la Ossa 2002; Namal Senanayake and Shahidi
2000). It is noteworthy that being rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, borage’s
leaves and flowers (petals) are widely used for edible purpose in raw and/or cooked
form. Therefore, several researchers have reported the proximate composition of
borage leaves (USDA 2019; Pereira et al. 2011; Pilerood and Prakash 2014), which
is presented in Table 14.1. Here, the constituents and nutrients of borage leaf and/or
flower will not be discussed as these do not lie within the scope of the chapter. To
study the same, readers can refer the paper authored by Pereira et al. (2011).
14.4 Lipids
Borage seed oil is a yellow-coloured oil comprising triglycerides majorly of oleic
acid (18–20%), linoleic acid (LA, 37.00–39.57%) and γ-linolenic acid (GLA:
21–23%) (De Smet 1993; Gomez and de la Ossa 2002; Mhamdi et al. 2009;
Tasset-Cuevas et al. 2013; Szterk et al. 2010). The molecular structures of LA,
Table 14.1 Proximate composition of borage leaves
Parameter
Amount (g/100 g)
(on wet basis)
a
(On dry basis)
b
(On dry basis)
c
Total lipids
0.70
1.25
1.20
Crude protein
1.80
8.93
7.30
Carbohydrates
3.06
71.94
NR
– Soluble fibre
NR
NR
45.00
– Insoluble fibre
NR
NR
38.00
Ash
1.44
17.88
NR
NR not reported
a USDA (2019)
b
Pereira et al. (2011)
c Pilerood and Prakash (2014)
354
B. Tanwar et al.
production. The oil’s quality is directly associated to the GLA content, which ranged
from 18 to 35% depending on the growing conditions. The quality of borage seeds
grown in Central and South America is comparatively low due to low GLA content
(<20%), which could be due to less favourable agroclimatic conditions. Europe has
been witnessed to provide highest quality of borage oil (>25% GLA) and, therefore,
has huge demand by leading cosmetic and food supplement industries such as L’Oréal
and Unilever (Grand View Research 2016).
14.3 Proximate Composition
Till date, no literature is available on the proximate composition of borage seed
except for the oil content. It has been reported that borage seeds contain approximately 30–40% oil (Gomez and de la Ossa 2002; Namal Senanayake and Shahidi
2000). It is noteworthy that being rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, borage’s
leaves and flowers (petals) are widely used for edible purpose in raw and/or cooked
form. Therefore, several researchers have reported the proximate composition of
borage leaves (USDA 2019; Pereira et al. 2011; Pilerood and Prakash 2014), which
is presented in Table 14.1. Here, the constituents and nutrients of borage leaf and/or
flower will not be discussed as these do not lie within the scope of the chapter. To
study the same, readers can refer the paper authored by Pereira et al. (2011).
14.4 Lipids
Borage seed oil is a yellow-coloured oil comprising triglycerides majorly of oleic
acid (18–20%), linoleic acid (LA, 37.00–39.57%) and γ-linolenic acid (GLA:
21–23%) (De Smet 1993; Gomez and de la Ossa 2002; Mhamdi et al. 2009;
Tasset-Cuevas et al. 2013; Szterk et al. 2010). The molecular structures of LA,
Table 14.1 Proximate composition of borage leaves
Parameter
Amount (g/100 g)
(on wet basis)
a
(On dry basis)
b
(On dry basis)
c
Total lipids
0.70
1.25
1.20
Crude protein
1.80
8.93
7.30
Carbohydrates
3.06
71.94
NR
– Soluble fibre
NR
NR
45.00
– Insoluble fibre
NR
NR
38.00
Ash
1.44
17.88
NR
NR not reported
a USDA (2019)
b
Pereira et al. (2011)
c Pilerood and Prakash (2014)
354
B. Tanwar et al.