Triacylglycerol and Glycerophospholipid Identification and Accumulation During Ripening of Pistacia lentiscus L. (Lentisc) Fruit

Triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid (PL) compositions of vegetable oils are considered a marker of quality and are often used in industry to control the purity of the oils and to detect adulteration. In this study, the TAG and PL composition of developing fruit of Pistacia lentiscus were investigated for the first time. The total TAG content was found to increase rapidly during fruit ripening from 105 to 966 mg/100 g of oil respectively between the 35th and the 175th day after fructification (DAF). During this period, 16 different molecular species of TAG were identified and quantified. POO was the major TAG from the second stage of maturation. Only four classes of PL were identified in the P. lentiscus oil: the phosphatidic acid (PA), the phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), the phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and the phosphatidylinositol (PI). The mass spectra obtained showed the presence of nine molecular species of PA, five species of PE and seven molecular species for each PG and PI classes. The total phospholipid content decreased rapidly during fruit ripening, from 45.5 % at the 15th DAF to 6.88 % at the 175th DAF.     

LC–ESI–QTOF–MS, MS/MS Analysis of Glycerophospholipid Species in Three Tunisian Pistacia lentiscus Fruit Populations

Three populations of Pistacia lentiscus fruits were analyzed for their contents, classes and different molecular species of glycerophospholipids (PL) in order to promote their production and marketability. The LC–ESI–TOF–MS and MS/MS were used to accomplish this analysis. Only four classes of PL were detected at different retention times—phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). There was a significant difference in the relative observed abundance of various glycerophospholipid classes. PI was found to be the dominant class in the all provenances of lentisc fruit, followed by the PG class in the KO and RM populations. Within the TB population, the PA class is more abundant than PG and PE. The major molecular specie in the PA class is PA-C16:0/18:2 followed by PA-C18:1/18:2; and the minor species were determined to be PA-C16:0/18:3, and PA-C18:3/18:2. In the PE class of phospholipids PE-C18:1/18:1 and PE-C18:2/18:2 are the major species identified. The phospholipids PG-C18:2/18:2, PG-18:2/18:1, PI-C16:0/18:2 and PI-C16:0/18:1 are the most abundant species within the PG and PI classes. PG-C18:1/18:1, PI-C18:0/18:1 and PI-C16:0/18:3 are found to be only relatively minor chemical species. In conclusion, it is clear that the predominant molecular species of PL are those containing C16:0, C18;1, C18:2 fatty acids and the minor species are those containing C18:0 and C18:3.     

Comparison of the Lipid Content,Fatty Acid Profile and Sterol Composition in Local Italian and Commercial Royal Jelly Samples

Royal jelly (RJ) is a beehive product that has gained a significant scientific and commercial interest due to its healthy properties. In the present study, lipid content, fatty acid profile and phytosterol amount were determined in eight local and four commercial pure RJ samples. A mixture of diethyl ether/isopropanol 50/1 (v/v) was chosen to extract fat matter from RJ. Lipid amounts ranged from 2.3 and 7.2 % and from 2.0 to 3.2 % of the fresh product in local and commercial RJ, respectively. Fourteen fatty acids and three phytosterols were identified. About 70 % of the total fatty acids consisted of (E)‐10‐hydroxy‐2‐decenoic and 10‐hydroxydecanoic acid. No significant difference was observed between local and commercial samples in regards to the relative amount of individual fatty acids. Sterols were in the range 179–701 and 329–1,097 mg kg^?1 of fat in local and commercial RJ, respectively. A significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was observed within RJ types in regards to the 24‐methylenecholesterol fraction, amounting to 77 and 67 % of identified sterols in local and commercial products, respectively.     

Comparison of Fatty Acid, Sterol, and Tocol Compositions in Skin and Kernel of Turpentine (Pistacia terebinthus L.) Fruits

Pistacia terebinthus L. is an indigenous plant growing wild in the southern regions of Turkey. Its fruits are used in foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics due to its high oil content (ca. 45 g/100 g). In the present study, it was found out that the kernel and the skin parts of the fruit differ significantly (p < 0.05) both in terms of oil content and composition. Regardless of the geographical origin, the most abundant fatty acid was found to be monounsaturated oleic acid, 18:1n-9 whose content was in the range of 51.2–67.5 g/100 g. β-sitosterol is the predominant sterol in kernel and skin of the terebinthus fruits whose content was varying between 97.4 and 219.8 mg/100 g. Concerning different tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols) detected in the kernel and skin, γ-T was the one with highest concentration (437.2 mg/kg) in kernels, while the most abundant one in skin parts was found to be α-T (348.7 mg/kg). In general the kernel of terebinthus fruits was more concentrated in PUFA, total sterol and tocopherols than skin, however, total tocotrienol content was higher in skin than kernel. On the basis of these findings it can be concluded that both kernel and skin are highly valuable in terms of bioactive compounds, whereas skin with a high amount saturated fatty acids is more suited to applications in cosmetic industry.     

Characterization of Monovarietal Argentinian Olive Oils from New Productive Zones

Quality characteristics (acidity, peroxide value, K ₂₃₂, K ₂₇₀, ΔK, oxidative stability index) and chemical data (antioxidant compound, fatty-acid, sterol, erythrodiol-uvaol, and wax compositions) were studied in monovarietal virgin-olive oil samples (2004–2005 harvests) from different regions of Argentina. The data obtained according to standard methods were compared with international quality and purity criteria. The total-polyphenol content ranged from 25 to 263 mg/kg, showing the highest values for Coratina and Arauco oils. The α-tocopherol content varied between 160 and 428 mg/kg; these values are generally stated to belong to good quality oils. Most of the samples from the new productive zones failed at least one purity criterion. Arbequina samples presented the highest deviations from the International Olive Oil Council criteria in fatty acids, waxes, and sterol percentages, indicating a poor adaptation of this cultivar to the agronomic medium and its sensibility to adverse climatic conditions. Principal component analysis revealed that the harvest-year influence was attributable to environmental factors.