Canola and Rapeseed ─ Production, Processing, Food Quality, and Nutrition

In 2010, esteemed researchers gathered at a workshop held at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. Drawn from these proceedings, Canola and Rapeseed: Production, Processing, Food Quality, and Nutrition presents state-of-the-art information on the chemistry of the minor constituents of canola and rapeseed and their impact on human health. The book also identifies new areas of research and opportunities for the industrial application of functional foods and nutraceuticals from canola and rapeseed.

Topics include:

• The historical development, properties, and performance of canola
• Characteristics and bioactives of sinapic acid derivatives and the decarboxylation pathways leading to their formation
• Canola protein processing
• High omega-9 canola oils and their future applications
• Modification of Brassica oilseeds
• Rapid analytical methods for measuring oil content
• The potential of ultrasound and supercritical fluid extraction for producing value-added by-products
• The processing of virgin rapeseed oils in Europe
• Extraction and application of canola protein
• The frying stability of high-oleic low-linolenic acid canola oils
• The potential of mustard oil for biodiesel

The final chapters demonstrate the health benefits of canola, including antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anticancer properties. Authored by experienced researchers in the field, the book chapters have been expanded considerably to include a number of areas not contained in the original workshop, providing comprehensive coverage of the potential of this essential crop.

Usha Thiyam-Hollander is an assistant professor at the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, based at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, University of Manitoba, Canada, where she researches the impact of various novel aspects of processing on canola oil and minor components. Her work also focuses on plant-based functional foods and nutraceutical ingredients and the impact of innovative technology, isolation, and optimization. Her interests include biorefining and environmentally friendly processes for deriving functional ingredients.

Michael N.A. Eskin is professor and associate dean in the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology, University of Manitoba, Canada. He has done extensive research on edible oils and was involved in the early development of canola oil. He has garnered of a number of awards, including the AOCS Timothy Mount Award for excellence in the science and technology of edible oils and the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology W.J. Eva Award for outstanding contribution to Canadian Science and Technology. Dr. Eskin was the 2012 winner of the prestigious IFT Stephen S. Chang Award for significant contributions to lipid science, particularly as related to his work on canola oil.

Bertrand Matthaus runs a laboratory at the Max Rubner-Institut (MRI), Federal Research Institute for Nutrition and Food, in the Department of Lipid Research of the German Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. He conducts research dealing with the improvement of the quality of fats and oils, especially canola oil. His work focuses on the investigation of frying processes; contaminants such as 3-MCPD esters, acrylamide, phthalates and 4-hydroxy-2-trans-nonenal; and the investigation of the oxidation of edible fats and oils.