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Comparative Study of Tocopherol Contents and Fatty Acids Composition in Twenty Almond Cultivars of Afghanistan
Author(s) -
Zamany Ahmad Jawid,
Samadi Ghulam Rasoul,
Kim Doo Hwan,
Keum YoungSoo,
Saini Ramesh Kumar
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-017-2989-8
Subject(s) - cultivar , tocopherol , oleic acid , nutrient , composition (language) , food science , chemistry , horticulture , fatty acid , botany , biology , vitamin e , antioxidant , biochemistry , ecology , linguistics , philosophy
Afghanistan is the fourth largest producer of almonds in the world producing 78 native and 6 imported cultivars. However, till date, there have been no comprehensive data on nutrient profiles of the native cultivars. Thus, in the present investigation, tocopherol contents and fatty acid composition from the kernels of 20 selected native almond cultivars of Afghanistan were analyzed. The ranges of variability for the studied nutrients were similar to those already reported for almonds grown in other countries, such as 47.8–66.1% of total lipids (fresh weight basis), 62.54–81.57% of oleic acid in the total lipids, and 139.1–355.0 μg/g α‐tocopherol in kernels. With respect to cultivars, significantly ( p < 0.05) high content of total lipids were recorded in ‘Belabai’ and ‘Sattarbai’ (Afghan grade), oleic acid in ‘Khairodini’ and of α‐tocopherol in ‘Khairodini‐161 Samangan’ and ‘Belabai’ cultivars. Kernels from these cultivars can be used for nutrient dense food formulations. Daily consumption of 50 g almonds is sufficient to meet the RDA of α‐tocopherol (15 mg/day), considering the average 300 μg/g of α‐tocopherol in Afghan almonds. Also, these nutrient rich cultivars can be used in almond breeding programs globally, to focus on improving kernel oil composition and nutrient contents.