Yield and Chemical Characteristics of L. (Chia) Oil from Native Seeds from Four Provenances of Guatemala.

Introduction: Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a plant from the Lamiaceae family that has been used as ancestral food, medicine, and oil, with culinary, artistic, and religious purposes by most of the Mesoamerican civilizations. Native from Mesoamerica, introduced into South America, Australia, and Europe, it is presently consumed as a nutritional and functional food.

Objective: This research aims to characterize ancient native cultivars from four provenances in Guatemala to recommend their direct consumption by the population as well as to establish its trade.

Methods: Seed samples were collected in four places where they have been cultivated for several generations. The oil was obtained by expression and analyzed chemically by gas chromatography following standard qualitative and quantitative methods.

Results: Variations in oil yield and some of the characteristic parameters of the phytochemical analysis were obtained. In general, the profile was similar to most of the reported data in the literature, with the saturated fatty acids (8.54-9.25%) relatively lower than the references (7.95-11.45%) but a higher concentration of unsaturated fatty oils, particularly of omega-3 (64.68-68.62%).

Conclusion: The oil from native cultivars contains high quantities of omega-3, which might help pregnant women during gestation and to control other conditions such as metabolic syndrome, particularly in low- and middle-income populations where these seeds are consumed regularly. The suggestion is made to encourage the cultivation and use of these ancestral seeds with the possibility of commercialization abroad with an appellation of origin label.