Squalene and Phytosterol Contents In Seeds of Some Korean Adlay (Coix lacryma jobi L.) Varieties

To characterize phytonutrient compounds in adlay (Coix lacryma jobi L.) plants, 8 adlay varieties commonly cultivated in Korea were collected and their unpolished and polished seeds were used for quantification of squalene and phytosterols: campesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol. In the case of unpolished seeds, squalene, campesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol contents ranged from 2.01 to 7.44, 5.49 to 10.23, 7.6 to 18.04, and 20.72 to 40.26 mg/100g, respectively, with an average of 4.12, 8.04, 13.11 and 31.34 mg/100g, respectively. The highest squalene, stigmasterol and sitosterol contents could be observed in var. Youlmu-1, while highest campesterol could be observed in var. Pungsung. Similarly, in polished seeds, average squalene, campesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol contents were 4.45, 7.81, 12.04 and 35.66 mg/100g, respectively and their amounts ranged from 3.04 to 7.81, 6.34 to 10.8, 8.61 to 17.8 and 28.27 to 59.3 mg/100g, respectively. The highest squalene, campesterol and sitosterol content were found in var. Aewon and highest stigmasterol was observed in var. Sanggang. No significant differences could be observed between polished and unpolished seeds in all tested varieties and compounds, except for var. Johyeon, which showed higher sitosterol (35.99 mg/100g) in polished seeds than unpolished case (26.37 mg/100g).