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Total lipid content and fatty acid composition of oilseed from lesser known sweet pomegranate clones
Author(s) -
Melgarejo P,
Artés F
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0010(200008)80:10<1452::aid-jsfa665>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - punica , cultivar , food science , oleic acid , linoleic acid , composition (language) , palmitic acid , stearic acid , linolenic acid , chemistry , behenic acid , fatty acid , chemical composition , botany , biology , horticulture , biochemistry , organic chemistry , linguistics , philosophy
The oil content and fatty acid composition of the oilseed of seven lesser known Spanish sweet pomegranate ( Punica granatum L) clones were determined by gas chromatography. The seeds contained oil in the range of about 63–122 g kg −1 dry matter, a notably lower content than that of some oriental pomegranate cultivars. Levels of lipid content probably could be considered insufficient for economic industrial exploitation compared with those of conventional oilseeds. The predominant fatty acid was the polyunsaturate (n − 3) linolenic acid (43.4–88.2%), followed by the diunsaturate linoleic (5.3–16.5%), the monounsaturate oleic (3.7–20.3%) and palmitoleic (traces to 2.9%) acids. To a lesser extent the saturates palmitic (2.6–14.9%) and stearic (1.2–9.0%) acids were also found in all clones. Lauric and arachidic acids were rarely detected. We have not confirmed the presence of behenic (C22:0) and lignoceric (C24:0) acids previously reported in edible and non‐edible pomegranate cultivars. Intervarietal differences in fatty acid composition were shown and they could be useful to establish chemotaxonomic differences. In contrast with previous reports on sweet pomegranate cultivars, a very low (0.04–0.35) saturated/unsaturated fatty acid ratio was found. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry