Seed Storage Compounds

Abstract Humans differ from other animals that utilize the food reserves of seed and fruits in that they have developed both agriculture for the monoculture production of selected species and also the means to improve selectively the quality and quantity of the crop that is being produced. As well as being consumed directly in the diet, seeds are also used in the production of, for example, cotton fibre, industrial oils, medicines, and drinks such as coffee and beer. The recent advances in genetic engineering offer the potential for the transfer of genetic material between species; this was not generally possible by the older and more conventional methods of plant breeding and selection used by farmers through the millennia. Such potential requires not just a re-evaluation of a wider range of seeds and fruits but also analysis of specific, individual components that may confer additional value if they can be transferred between species, organs, or tissues.