What is Gossypol? Importance of its

removal…

    A triterpenoid aldehyde found in all species of the genus Gossypium, possesses insecticidal, antimicrobial, antifertility, and antitumor properties. Gossypol content in cotton seed varies among cultivated species and among cultivars within species. This investigation was conducted at the Texas Agricultural Research Center in San Angelo, TX, in 1993 to determine the regional and geographic variability for seed gossypol content and isomer form in G. barbadense L. A set of 57 accessions (collected during 50 yr from 21 countries) representing five regions, and 26 cultivars were analyzed. Species' variation for gossypol and isomer content exceeded previous reports. Total gossypol content in seed ranged from 3.0 to 34.0 g kg-1 kernel weight. The more biologically active negative isomer ranged from 249 to 689 g kg-1 total seed gossypol. Cotton accessions collected west of the Andes mountains in South America displayed the greatest variation in seed gossypol and gossypol isomer contents. Accessions from Central America and Argentina displayed the least variation. Subsets of accessions, possessing unique levels of seed gossypol or gossypol isomer, were identified within regional groups or cultivars. A low (r = 0.02) phenotypic correlation between gossypol content and isomer ratio suggested that simultaneous selection for the two traits is feasible.