This study was conducted to get beneficial information of fatty acid compositions and antioxidant resources from safflower genetic resources. The fatty acid compositions and antioxidant activities in 128 safflower germplasm collected from South Asia and Africa were evaluated using gas chromatography and spectrophotometer, respectively. The total oil contents in safflower germplasm were 15.8 ~ 32.2%. The unsaturated fatty acid and linoleic acid were 89.4 ~ 93.3%, and 15.5 ~ 80.4%, respectively. Six accessions (K184652, K184658, K184662, K184671, K185831, and K185832) from South Asia exhibited high oleic acid contents. Variation of DPPH and ABTS activities ranged from 0.8 ± 0.28 to 7.6 ± 0.06 μg ASC mg-1 and from 23.1 ± 1.72 to 134.7 ± 1.25 μg Trolox mg-1, respectively. Total polyphenol contents ranged from 5.1 ± 0.17 to 52.0 ± 1.24 μg GAE mg-1. The antioxidant activities and fatty acid compositions were not different between the South Asia and Africa germplasm, while oil contents of seeds were higher in South Asia germplasm. DPPH values had positive correlation with ABTS activity (r = 0.862**) and total polyphenol contents (r = 0.864**) whereas oleic and linoleic acid showed strong negative correlation (r = −0.998**). Principal component analysis based on oil and antioxidant traits exhibited that the first four principal components together expained 85.0% of the total variation.

Background : To select plant resources of the possibility of development as a natural antioxidant, the antioxidant activities including total polyphenol content (TPC), 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power (RP) of perilla accessions collected from South Korea were conducted. Method and Results : A total of 18 perilla accessions by regions were selected. Two grams of dried perilla leaves were extracted with 85% ethanol and used for analysis of antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity value was measured in a spectrophotometer. Perilla extracts showed variation in TPC ranging from 30.87 to 92.66 ㎍ GAE ㎎-1 dw. ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and RP ranged from 6.83 to 38.64 ㎍ Trolox ㎎-1 dw, 0.63 to 8.62 ㎍ ASC ㎎-1 dw, 5.05 to 17.57 ㎍ ASC ㎎-1 dw, and 4.52 to 35.69 ㎍ ASC ㎎-1 dw, respectively. TPC was high in perilla leaves of Gyeongsang-do, but other antioxidant activities were high in perilla leaves of Chungcheong-do. Cluster analysis based on antioxidant acitivities of 18 perilla accessions consist of group Ⅰ (3 accessions), Ⅱ (2 accessions), Ⅲ (5 accessions) and Ⅳ (8 accessions). Group Ⅱ characterized as higher antioxidant activities than other groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on antioxidant data revealed that the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) together explained 97.78 % total variation. Conclusion : IT242410 and IT235354 of group Ⅱ showed high antioxidant activity. These resources will be useful for developing natural antioxidants.