A total of 447 accessions consisting of seven Brassica spp.; Brassica carinata (34), B. juncea (199), B. rapa subsp. dichotoma (18), B. rapa. subsp. oleifera (14), B. rapa subsp. rapa (36), B. rapa subsp. trilocularis (56) and B. alba subsp. alba (90) were studied for their morphological characters and fatty acid compositions. There was a wide variation for morphological traits, oil content and fatty acid composition among Brassica species. Seed number/silique and yield/plant were varied from 4.2 (B. alba) to 25.1 (B. rapa subsp. trilocularis) and from 170.7 g (B. rapa subsp. oleifera) to 351.9 g (B. juncea L. Czern.), respectively. Among Brassica species, B. rapa subsp. trilocularis exhibited the highest oil (29.2%), stearic (20.4%) and erucic acid (45.3%) content. B. carinata had the highest content of palmitic (5.2%), oleic (21.2%) and linolenic acid (11.1%). B. rapa subsp. dichotoma and B. rapa subsp. oleifera exhibited the highest content of linoleic (8.1%) and behenic (26.9%) acid, respectively. B. rapa subsp. trilocularis exhibited the highest (45.3%) erucic acid content and significant positive relationship was observed between oleic acid and linoleic acid. This variation of agronomic and fatty acid compositions in Brassica species can be utilized to develop new varieties.

A total of 162 accessions of Perilla germplasm collected from diverse habitats in South Korea. The oil content of the seeds varied from 19.8 to 49.6%, the average being 33.3%. Oil content showed wide ranges of variation. The fatty acid composition of the seed oil showed the following overall ranges: palmitic 4.5 to 8.1%, stearic 1.6 to 7.4%, oleic 13.4 to 23.6%, linoleic 9.5 to 19.5%, and linolenic acid 48.6 to 66.4%. No correlation was found between oil content and fatty acid composition. The results obtained in this study provide useful background information for developing new cultivars with a high oil content and different fatty acid. Several accessions could be used as parental lines in breeding programs aiming to increase perilla oil quantity and quality.