Oil Content and Fatty Acid Profile of some Pine Nuts Species (Pinus spp.)

Abstract

The pine nuts, as the most expensive ones, are a source of healthy oil. Accordingly, the hypothesis was genetic differences of pine species (<em>Pinus</em> spp.) affect their nut oil content and fatty acid phytovariability. A completely randomized design experiment with three replicates was done in Isfahan Flower Garden, Iran, using four pine species of chir pine (<em>Pinus</em> <em>longifolia</em> Roxb.), stone pine (<em>P. pinea</em> L.), eldar pine (<em>P. eldarica</em> Medv.) and mugo pine (<em>P.</em> <em>mugo</em> pumilio XENARI). The mugo pine and eldar pine species contained the highest (44.10%) and the lowest (37.40%) oil percentage, respectively. The eldar pine (12.45%) and the chir pine (12.23%) species contained the highest and the stone pine species (11.18%) contained the least rate of saturated fatty acids (SFA). Palmitic (6.33%) and oleic (36.29%) acids were the highest in the stone pine specie, and stearic acid (3.86%) was the highest in the chir pine specie. For human health, high levels of unsaturated fatty acids and little amount of saturated fatty acids are recommended. In conclusion, the oil content and fatty acid composition in studied pine species were highly variable, and are considered as a potential source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. According to our results, the mugo pine species due to possess of the highest amount of oil percent and linoleic acid and the lowest amount of palmitic and stearic acids can be introduced as an elite pine specie.