High tocopherol and triacylglycerol contents in Pinus pinea L. seeds.
Oleaginous seeds are among the functional foods most recognized for their tocopherols and triacylglycerols because of their role in lipid metabolism. In this paper, the tocopherol and triacylglycerol contents in seeds of several Pinus pinea L. populations around the Mediterranean Basin were investigated. Lipids were extracted from fully ripen seeds with petroleum ether. The tocopherol (alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, and delta-tocopherol) contents were, respectively, 15.34+/-3.75 ppm, 1,681.75+/-404.03 ppm and 41.87+/-9.79 ppm. Lipids (mainly triacylglycerols) in P. pinea seeds averaged 48% on a dry weight basis. Triacylglycerols with an equivalent carbon number of 44 (32.27%) and of 46 (30.91%) were dominant. The major triacylglycerol was LLO (24.06%). Tocopherols and triacylglycerols were present at remarkably high levels, thus making P. pinea oil a valuable source of antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids with varying levels across the geographical range of P. pinea.
Nasri
Nizar
N
Laboratoire de Biochimie, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université Tunis El-Manar, Tunis, Tunisia. Nasri@fst.rnu.tn
Tlili
Nizar
N
Ben Ammar
Kamel
K
Khaldi
Abdelhamid
A
Fady
Bruno
B
Triki
Saida
S
D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D028223:Pinus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000032:analysis*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis*
D000975:Antioxidants; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides; D024505:Tocopherols