The fatty acid composition of the oil from Lupinus albus cv. Luxe as affected by environmental and agricultural factors

There is a growing interest in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) seed for food or feed, favoured by the availability of well-performing varieties with low content of alkaloids. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of the environmental and agricultural factors on the content and fatty acid composition of lupin oil. The investigation was performed on the sweet variety Luxe grown in three Italian locations (one continental and two Mediterranean) and 13 environments in total. Statistical analyses (analysis of variance and principal component analysis) indicated that oil content and composition of fatty acids were affected largely by the growing location. Mediterranean sites tended to lower crop yield, but to increase oil content and absolute alpha-linolenic acid content compared to the continental location; large variation occurred also between the Mediterranean sites. The alpha-linolenic acid content ranged from 1.41 to 3.24 mg/g flour, highlighting the possible value of white lupin in order to reach the recommended daily intake of this fatty acid. The observed omega-3/omega-6 ratio, ranging from 0.45 to 0.63, was much higher than that of most vegetable oils.