Edible Oilseeds: Historical Perspectives, Recent Advances, and Future Directions

Oilseed crops are vital sources of edible oil, grown worldwide for their nutritional and industrial significance. Ranging from soybeans to sunflowers, these crops play a pivotal role in human diets and economies. Recent advances in oilseed crops include the development of high-yielding varieties with improved disease resistance and enhanced nutritional profiles. Moreover, there have been significant efforts to optimize oil extraction processes to increase efficiency and reduce waste. Additionally, research into the metabolic pathways involved in oil biosynthesis has provided insights for engineering crops with higher oil content and desirable fatty acid compositions. These advancements are crucial for meeting the growing global demand for edible oils while addressing environmental and nutritional challenges. Taking into account recent literature, this chapter (i) overviews the historical perspectives and evolution of edible oilseeds; (ii) highlights the global expansion of edible oilseeds cultivation; (iii) enlightens the taxonomy and genetic diversity of edible oilseed crops; (iv) briefly overviews the major significance of edible oilseeds; (v) critically discusses the major recent advances (including the role of revolutionary clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, CRISPR technology) in the field of edible oilseeds research; and also (vi) highlights the major aspects so far least explored in the current context.