Also known as German sesame or Siberian oilseed. France: Cameline cultivee, Norway: Oljedodre, Denmark: Sæd-Dodder, Finland: Ruistankio, Germany: Leindotter, Spain: Camelina pilosa.

Camelina sativa belongs to the same family as rapeseed, the Cruciferae, but is a different genus. Gold of Pleasure is an annual or over wintering herb originating in the Mediterranean to Central Asia.

Camelina is an oil crop which can be grown on cold and marginal lands without the intensive use of petrochemicals like it is the case with canola. This means its cultivation is more sustainable and the purchase of land will be much cheaper. In Germany the crop showed good potential as a rotational crop in combination with wheat. It is suited for colder climates and little rainfall. Camelina was first cultivated in Northern Europe during the Bronze Age. Seeds from camelina were crushed and boiled to release oil for food, medicinal use and lamp oil.

Camelina produces soy quality meal and canola quality oil. Camelina meal could be used for special high omega feed for fish, poultry, beef and dairy cattle, hogs, goats and pets. Today camelina is produced in Slovenia, Ukraine, China, Finland, Germany, Austria and the USA.

Camelina is relatively easy to grow and requires lower agricultural inputs compared to other crops. In Montana, USA they breed a new variety called MT5 with a better and higher oil content in the seeds. Another important issue of oil is the Fatty Acid Profile. This determines the cold flow properties when converted to biodiesel. Camelina methyl ester was tested in Austria and found out to be comparable with the rapeseed (canola) biodiesel I. Japan Airlines made a successful test flight in a Boeing 747-300 with Camelina based Biofuel. Read more: Japan Airlines Finds Biofuel More Efficient Than Petro-Fuel in Test Flight.

1 Ha  performance	Camelina	Rapeseed
Total Seeds Yield KG	1700	3400
(Pre) harvest Cost $	198	455
Seed Oil content %	34	43
Content Oil/ha KG	578	1360
Content Oil/ha L	628	1496
Cost of pressing $	85	170
Remaining Meal KG	1122	2040
Sales Meal 23 ct/KG $	258,1	469,2
Liter bruto cost price for Oil (feedstock)$	0,04	0,104

Table 1. Economic data for Camelina sativa vs Rapeseed. II

Because camelina oil is relatively high (>50%) in omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and low in saturated fatty acids, camelina is considered to be a high quality edible oil. The health effects, technical stability and almond-like tasty aroma make camelina an important edible oil for the future.

Camelina meal is low in glucosinolates, and can be used for animal feed. Camelina meal is similar to or higher than soybean meal with 45 to 47 % crude protein. Because of its excellent omega 3 and 6 content, it can replace the fish captured in the wild which serves as feed for fish in fish farms.

Camelina sativa is a rapid growth (85-100 days from seed to harverst) oilseed. Winter sown crops are likely to give higher yields than spring sown crops. Camelina is best adapted to colder climates where excessive heat during flowering is not encountered. Its drought avoidance characteristic might make it better suited to drier regions than other oilseeds.

Conclusion

Camelina is an under-exploited crop species of great potential economical importance. We believe that camelina oils with improved fatty acid compositions will be useful for a variety of food and non-food uses. In a report, it is demonstrated that novel hydroxy fatty acids were produced in camelina oils by seed-specific expression of a castor fatty acid hydroxylase. The low cost oilseed crop, camelina sativa, has great utility as an economical platform for a plethora of genetically engineered industrial and pharmaceutical products. Camelina sativa is by some considered a second generation crop as it can both provide oil and cellulose for ethanol production, without reducing the area for food production, like it is the case with rapeseed.