Both ARS scientists are based in Ames, Iowa--Pollak in the Corn Insects and Crops Genetics Research Unit, and Duvick at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station.
Some of their corn lines yield oils with 60 to 70 percent oleic acid, a compound that helps products stay fresh longer and is thought to help lower blood cholesterol in people. Most commercially available corn oils contain 20 to 30 percent oleic acid. High oleic acid content may also lead margarine makers to skip hydrogenation, a process that creates trans fatty acids, which are believed to raise cholesterol.
Some oils from the new corn lines have total saturated fatty acid compositions as low as 6.5 percent, compared to the 13 percent found in corn oils currently available. Meanwhile, the high protein and oil contents of some of the new varieties may lead to cost-effective animal feeds.
The researchers are awaiting patent approval for the Tripsacum-introgressed corn lines and are seeking commercial partners. Future research will focus on examining the types of products that can use the high-oleic lines, and on crossing the new lines with existing corn varieties.
Read more about this research in the August issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
