Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
include its seed gum which can be utilized as viscosity modifier in edible and
industrial applications [
28
] and press cake that can be used as an organic fertilizer
[
29
]. The mucilage from seeds has also been found effective as biological control
agent against mosquito larvae [
30
]. This mucilaginous trait is of particular interest
in brassica improvement that targets drought-prone regions in China
[
31
]. Lesquerella seed meal was reported to be a better alternative to soybean
meal as animal feed due to very favorable amount of amino acids even exceeding
the average amount of lysine in several
Brassica
species [
32
,
33
]. Seed protein and
protein from the seed meal can be harnessed for other various food and nonfood
applications [
34
].
The other unique HFA found in the related auriculate-leaved
Physaria
species
that have been reclassified to the genus
Paysonia
include densipolic acid
(12-hydroxy- octadeca-9,15-dienoic, 12-OH-18:2) and auricolic acid
(14-hydroxy-eicosa-ll,17-dienoic, 14-OH-20:2). The densipolic fatty acids are pre-
dominant in seed oils of
P. densipila
,
P. lescurii
,
P. lyrata
,
P. stonensis
, and
P. perforata
while auricolic acid in
P. auriculata
[
35
]. The biosynthetic pathways
of the different hydroxylated fatty acids in lesquerella seeds have already been
studied using in vivo experiments [
19
].
Taxonomy
Lesquerella
is a member of the Brassicaceae or Crucifer family. It is commonly
known as bladderpod, lesquerella, yellowtop, desert mustard, and cloth of gold. The
genus was named in honor of Leo Lesquereux, a Swiss-American Botanist
[
36
]. The genus
Lesquerella
includes member species that were previously classi-
fied under
Alyssum
and
Vesicaria
[
37
]. Majority of
Lesquerella
species including
P. fendleri
(Fig.
14.1
) were later transferred to the genus
Physaria
[
38
]. Prior to this,
Physaria
consisted of 22 species distributed throughout the intermontane region of
the United States and extending into Canada.
Lesquerella
was established by
Watson [
36
] as a North American genus. Later, Payson [
39
] recognized 52 species
and Rollins and Shaw [
35
], and Rollins [
37
] recognized 69 and 83 species with
5 additional species published at a later date. Al-Shehbaz and O'Kane Jr. [
38
]
believe that 4 additional new species exist in South America, including
P. mendocina
first described in 1893. In Rollins [
37
] review of
Lesquerella
of
North America, 83 species were included. Other species have since been discovered
including those by Rollins [
40
-
42
] and by O'Kane Jr. [
43
,
44
] bringing the total
number of North American species to about 90.
Among the species of
Physaria
later described include
P. lesicii
and
P. pulchella
found in mountainous areas of central and western Montana [
40
];
P. tuplashensis
found in the Hanford nuclear site, Washington [
41
];
P. navajoensis
in northwestern
New Mexico [
43
];
P. eriocarpa
,
P. pachyphylla
, and
P. pycnantha
in the western
United States [
45
]; and
P. scrotiformis
from southwestern Colorado [
44
]. Several
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