Gamma-linolenic Acid from Fifty-seven Ribes Species and Cultivars

γ-linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3n-6) is a bioactive fatty acid (FA) that exerts several healthy actions; however, its occurrence is restricted to a few oils. The goal of this study was to detect GLA-rich Ribes species and cultivars (cv), and to achieve this the seeds of 7 Ribes taxa and 50 Ribes cv were surveyed for FA profiles. The highest GLA percentages were found in R. nigrum cv 'Plotnokistnaya', 'Volshebnica', 'Atlant' and 'Nara' (22.6, 22.1, 20.9, and 20.0% of total FA, respectively) and also in R. komarovii (19.6%) and R. nigrum var. sibiricum (18.3%). Stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4n-3) had the highest values in both R. rubrum 'Konstantinovskaya' and R. niveum 'Smolyaninovskaya' (4.8%). GLA content ranged from 0.4 in some R. rubrum cv and R. niveum 'Smolyaninovskaya' to 3.5 g/100 g seeds in R. nigrum 'Plotnokistnaya'. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using PUFA profiles, which allowed grouping Ribes sections as well as black currant cv derived from different pedigree within the section Coreosma. All taxa and cv checked here are valuable by-product sources, given the high GLA percentages contained in their seed oils. Such cv could be used for healthy oils production, as well as for breeding to obtain new cv with improved GLA concentrations.