Seed oil profiles of five rose hip species (Rosa spp.) from Hakkari, Turkey

The seed oil of rose hip is mainly used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. This study deals with detecting the seed oil contents of five rose hip species growing in Hakkari, Eastern Turkey. By GC, seed oil contents were determined as 4.97% for Rosa canina, 5.26% for Rosa dumalis var. boissieri, 6.59% for Rosa pulverulanta, 5.44% for Rosa iberica, and 7.95% for Rosa heckeliana subsp. vanheurckiana. Seeds contained 4.25-5.15% of palmitic acid, 0.22-0.89% of palmitoleic acid, 1.80-2.43% of stearic acid, 20.35-23.03% of oleic acid, 41.14-51.06% of linoleic acid, 19.66-23.83% of linolenic acid, and 0.94-1.29% of arachidic acid depending on the species. The contents of saturated fatty acid were between 7.39% (Rosa heckeliana subsp. vanheurciana) and 8.84% (Rosa dumalis var. boissieri). The contents of unsaturated fatty acids ranged from 83.28% (Rosa dumalis var. boissieri) to 91.57% (Rosa heckeliana subsp. vanheurciana). The oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids were major fatty acids in all rose hip species.