KANANASKIS, Alta. – The little black canola seed is not what it used to be.
More plant lines are under development every year that are designed to make more than cooking oil and margarine.
The long-term goal is to lower saturated fats to less than 3.5 percent, Ronald Meeusen, vice-president of research and development for Dow Agrosciences, said at the Canola Council of Canada’s recent meeting in Kananaskis.
Using traditional breeding programs, molecular markers and microspore culture, plant breeders have created 4,000 new canola lines of which 75 percent are low in linolenic acid and high oleic acid.
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“A great deal of advances are being made to improve the oil properties using traditional breeding supplemented with some of the newer technologies,” Meeusen said.
In the past, high yields were sacrificed for high quality varieties. This is changing.
Scientists are also working on improved meal quality.
Canola meal is a major byproduct with good protein but less digestibility than soybean meal. Animals are reluctant to eat it because it tastes bitter. Researchers are looking for a gene that blocks phytate, which is responsible for the bitterness.
Meeusen predicts that future canola meal will be specific to swine, hog or ruminant diets.
“Canola may no longer play second fiddle to soybean meal,” he said.
“As we get better control from the genes that can create specialty fatty acids, those kinds of markets can open up and create some very interesting specialty niches for canola.”
Researchers already know canola has valuable industrial and pharmaceutical uses. Meeusen foresees the day when specialty canola could be harvested for specific components useful in making adhesives, dyes, plastics and lubricants.
The problem is volume.
“Dow Chemical is looking at 100 million pounds a year as the minimum level for them to use and think it might be worth playing with,” he said.
Another promising area is adding protein genes to canola for pharmaceutical production. This includes vaccines, components in gene therapy, cancer treatment, blood clotting medication and cellular therapies.
“The possibility of vaccinating people or animals without needles exists,” he said.
However, public trust must be gained among consumers, government, scientists and growers.
“If we as a society are going to begin using canola or any other crop to produce human therapeutics, we are going to need a way to keep that segregated from the food supply canola.”
Ernie Unger of Cargill, which owns the specialty variety Inter Mountain Canola, said segregation is expensive when these products are produced at such low volumes.
However, the Japanese are already acting on this issue.
Japan can buy processed oils that are labeled according to fat content, frying ability or general health benefits. The country’s health and welfare ministry permits labels that claim scientifically proven health benefits such as cholesterol lowering oils or vitamin enhancement.
