Variations in the Chemical Compositions of Peanut Mutants Induced by Gamma Radiation

This study was carried out to investigate the chemical composition of peanut mutants induced by gamma radiation (Co-60) at 300 ㏉ in seeds of the cultivar Shinnamkwang. The protein contents of twenty-eight peanut mutants ranged from 23.3% to 31.7% and were increased by from 0.5% to 8.4% in fifteen mutants lines from the 26.8% of the original variety, cv. Shinnamkwang. Lipid contents of in mutants ranged from 43.2% to 53.5%, an increase of 0.2% to 5.7% from the 47.8% of the original variety. The range of unsaturated oleic acid in 28 mutants was from 38.9% to 56.9% an increase of from 1.3% to 14.0% from the 50.6% in the original variety. Linoleic acid, the highest unsaturated fatty acid, constituted 32.6% meanly of mutants, it was 17.4% lesser than oleic acid, ranging from 25.9% to 42.0%. Palmitic acid (16:0) contents ranged from 8.6% to 11.1%, and the mutant line-9 had the highest content. The ratio of oleic to linoleic acid was 0.9 to 2.2. A negative coefficient (r=-0.98 ** ) was obtained between oleic and linoleic acid, but for other fatty acids, no significant relation was observed. Similarly, a negative coefficient of r=-0.68 ** was observed between saturated and unsaturated acids. The sucrose compositions of mutants ranged from 2.6% to 6.2%.