The sterol composition of freshly harvested compared to stored seeds of rape, sunflower and poppy

The composition of the free sterols and the sterol esters of freshly harvested seeds of rape, sunflower and poppy was compared to that of stored seeds. The sterol composition of rapeseed was not changed during storage, whereas in sunflower seed the free sterols had less of Δ5‐avenasterol and Δ7‐stigmastenol in ten‐month‐old seeds compared to fresh seeds. The greatest relative changes were observed for esterified sterols in poppy seed, with a drop in the percentage of Δ5‐avenasterol from 25.3% in freshly harvested to 16.9% in seeds stored for 10 months.