Soybean seeds are an important source of vegetable oils, and characterizing their oil composition is essential for evaluating nutritional quality and industrial potential. In this study, seed oils from four newly developed soybean cultivars (YXL2, HN20, 016-1, and HX3P) grown in southern China were comprehensively analyzed. Significant differences were observed in proximate composition, with oil contents ranging from 18.61% (016-1) to 23.09% (YXL2). Linoleic acid was the predominant fatty acid, accounting for 51.51-56.15% of total fatty acids, and was primarily located at the sn -2 position of triacylglycerols. A total of 141 triacylglycerol species were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The most abundant species were oleic-linoleic-linolenic (O-L-Ln), linoleic-linoleic-linoleic (L-L-L), and stearic-linolenic-linolenic (S-Ln-Ln), representing 8.48% (016-1) to 9.44% (YXL2) of total triacylglycerols. Thermal analysis showed that all soybean oils melted in the low-melting-point region, while infrared spectroscopy revealed stronger absorption intensities at ∼3009 cm -1 , corresponding to the -C=C-H ( cis ) stretching vibration, in YXL2 and HX3P oils, correlating with their higher degrees of unsaturation. Based on its superior oil yield and favorable polyunsaturated fatty acid distribution, YXL2 was identified as the most suitable cultivar for industrial oil production, while 016-1 offered a unique high-protein, high-omega-3 profile. This study provides the first comprehensive analytical characterization of these Chinese soybean cultivars, offering valuable insights for oil authentication and their targeted utilization in vegetable oil refining, functional food formulations, and high-protein ingredient production.
Korma et al. (2026) studied this question.