Abstract
The oilseed rape crop, Brassica napus L. and B. campestris L., has undergone a significant chemical transformation during the last 15 years. Plant breeders produced cultivars with only trace levels of erucic acid in the oil compared with 40-50% in early cultivars, and with 18 μmol/g of glucosinolates or less in the oil-free meal compared with 62-1 15 μmol/g (Daun 1983). The new “Canola” cultivars were developed because erucic acid was a suspected health hazard for humans and glucosinolates caused the meal to be unpalatable or toxic to farm animals.