DIFFERENCES IN SOME CONSTITUENTS, ENZYMES ACTIVITY AND ELECTROPHORETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF DIFFERENT RAPESEED (Brassica napus L.) CULTIVARS

Rapeseed is one of the most important oilseed crops cultivated in many parts of the world and used as a source of edible oil for human consumption. The present work reports some phytochemical and nutritional potentials of different rapeseed cultivars with a view to exploit their benefits for human nutrition. Five rapeseed cultivars namely; pactol, silvo, topas, serw 4 and serw 6 were analyzed for their phytochemical constituents (such as glutathione, ascorbate, phenolic, flavonoid contents) and some antioxidant enzymes activity (i.e. GPX; guaiacol peroxidase, APX; ascorbate peroxidase, CAT; catalase, SOD; superoxide dismutase) together with their protein profile. Among all cultivars significant variations in glutathione, ascorbate, phenolic and flavonoid contents were observed. The highest DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extract was observed in topas cultivar. Minor variations were noticed in SDS-PAGE protein profile. The results of the study suggest the phytochemical and nutritional potentials of B. napus seeds for human and other animal uses due to their extensive consumption in the world.