Chapter 2
Rapeseed/Canola (Brassica napus) Seed
Ankit Goyal, Beenu Tanwar, Manvesh Kumar Sihag, Vikas Kumar,
Vivek Sharma, and Suman Soni
Abstract Canola (Brassica napus), previously known as rapeseed, is one of the most
commonly grown oil seeds. Its oil is commonly known for higher amount of monounsaturated fatty acids, moderate amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and substantial content of tocopherols, phytosterols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Native rapeseed
used to contain higher concentration of toxic erucic acid (22–60%) and glucosinolates
(80 μmol/g), which had adverse effect on nutrient’s bioavailability and growth
performance of the animals. Consequently, canola, a cross-bred of rapeseed cultivar,
was developed having <2% erucic acid in oil and <30 μmol glucosinolates per gram
of rapeseed meal. Canola oil is probably the only edible vegetable oil by today’s
standards which is nutritionally well-balanced among all other vegetable oils. Canola
oil has been reported to prevent the risks of heart diseases, type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, etc. Apart from the cooking oil, canola oil is also used in the preparation
of salad oils, salad dressings, margarines and organogels. On the other hand, defatted
A. Goyal
Department of Dairy Chemistry, Mansinhbhai Institute of Dairy and Food Technology,
Mehsana, Gujarat, India
e-mail: ankit@midft.com
B. Tanwar (*)
Department of Dairy Technology, Mansinhbhai Institute of Dairy and Food Technology,
Mehsana, Gujarat, India
e-mail: beenu@midft.com
M. K. Sihag
Department of Dairy Chemistry, College of Dairy Science & Technology, Guru Angad Dev
Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
V. Kumar
Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
V. Sharma
Dairy Chemistry Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
S. Soni
Regional Agmark Laboratory, Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture
& Farmers’ Welfare, Amritsar, Punjab, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_2
47
Rapeseed/Canola (Brassica napus) Seed
Ankit Goyal, Beenu Tanwar, Manvesh Kumar Sihag, Vikas Kumar,
Vivek Sharma, and Suman Soni
Abstract Canola (Brassica napus), previously known as rapeseed, is one of the most
commonly grown oil seeds. Its oil is commonly known for higher amount of monounsaturated fatty acids, moderate amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and substantial content of tocopherols, phytosterols, and omega-3 fatty acids. Native rapeseed
used to contain higher concentration of toxic erucic acid (22–60%) and glucosinolates
(80 μmol/g), which had adverse effect on nutrient’s bioavailability and growth
performance of the animals. Consequently, canola, a cross-bred of rapeseed cultivar,
was developed having <2% erucic acid in oil and <30 μmol glucosinolates per gram
of rapeseed meal. Canola oil is probably the only edible vegetable oil by today’s
standards which is nutritionally well-balanced among all other vegetable oils. Canola
oil has been reported to prevent the risks of heart diseases, type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, etc. Apart from the cooking oil, canola oil is also used in the preparation
of salad oils, salad dressings, margarines and organogels. On the other hand, defatted
A. Goyal
Department of Dairy Chemistry, Mansinhbhai Institute of Dairy and Food Technology,
Mehsana, Gujarat, India
e-mail: ankit@midft.com
B. Tanwar (*)
Department of Dairy Technology, Mansinhbhai Institute of Dairy and Food Technology,
Mehsana, Gujarat, India
e-mail: beenu@midft.com
M. K. Sihag
Department of Dairy Chemistry, College of Dairy Science & Technology, Guru Angad Dev
Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
V. Kumar
Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
V. Sharma
Dairy Chemistry Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
S. Soni
Regional Agmark Laboratory, Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture
& Farmers’ Welfare, Amritsar, Punjab, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_2
47