Chemical characterization of oil from four Avocado varieties cultivated in Morocco

Abstract

The notable growth in the use of avocado oil in the nutritional and cosmetic field was the main objective to valorize the oil production of important varieties of avocados existing in Morocco by analyzing its chemical composition in fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols and its physico-chemical properties. Oleic acid is the main fatty acid in the oil; they constitute between 50 and 65% of the total fatty acids. The study of the unsaponifiable fraction revealed that avocado oil contains 3259.9–5378.8 mg/kg sterols and 113.13–332.17 mg/kg tocopherols. Chemo-metric tools were employed in manner optimization, such as principal component analysis, agglomerative hierarchical clustering, analysis of variance, and classification trees using Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector. Chemo-metric tools revealed a difference in the composition of fatty acid, sterols, and tocopherol of avocado oil samples. This difference resulted from a variety of avocado fruits. Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) method was efficient distinguishing avocado oil samples based on fruit variety using fatty acids, tocopherols, sterol compositions and total sterol. Principal component analysis (PCA) method allowed the distinction the set avocado oil dataset based on fruit varieties, supplied a correct discrimination rate of 95.44% for avocado fruit varieties using the fatty acid. Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) carried out using the same variables, also provided an acceptable classification rate of 50% for avocado fruit varieties using the total tocopherol content. Besides, a comparative study of the physico-chemical properties in terms of acidity index, saponification index, iodine index, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and methyl and ethyl esters was performed.

Physicochemical and bioactive compounds at edible ripeness of eleven varieties of avocado (Persea americana) cultivated in the Andean Region of Peru

“…Campesterol was present in lower amounts (13.88–31.57 mg/100 g DM); while only in the Collin Red and La Molina genotypes, small amounts of stigmasterol were found (7.84 and 7.10 mg/100 g. DM, respectively). Nasri et al ., (2021) reported similar ranges of β‐sitosterol (168.64 to 203.34 mg/100 g DM) and lower ranges of campesterol (11.30 to 14.81 mg/100 g DM) and stigmasterol (0.18 to 1.92 mg/100 g DM) for different avocado genotypes from Morocco. Campos et al ., (2020) reported for Hass avocado from different harvest times, β‐sitosterol values within the range of 130.93–197.76 mg/100 g DM, followed by campesterol (13.99–25.24 mg/100 g DM) and stigmasterol (5.86 to 6.67 mg/100 g DM).…”

“…Likewise, in Hass avocado grown on the Peruvian coast, the UFA/SFA ratio was 2.2 (Campos et al ., 2020), lower than the value of 3.05 found in this work for Hass avocado grown in the Andean region. Galvão et al ., (2014) reported ratios between 1.43 and 3.49 for three cultivars from Brazil; Nasri et al ., (2021) reported values from 3.66 to 5.35. However, Ali et al ., (2020) reported lower ratios between 1.41–2.52, these authors included genotypes such as Bacon and Zutano grown in the East‐Central Florida with UFA/SFA ratios of 2.00 and 1.89, respectively, and these values are lower compared to those found in this work of 4.3 and 4.0, respectively.…”

“…The fatty acids in order of importance were oleic acid (50.40–69.94%) > palmitic acid (14.18–28.10%) > linoleic acid (8.20–14.29%) > palmitoleic acid (4.24–12.27%) > α‐linolenic acid (0.61–1.27%). Results are consistent with previous studies concerning different avocado genotypes (Galvão et al ., 2014; Mardigan et al ., 2019; Nasri et al ., 2021). Oleic acid was the main fatty acid found, being the genotypes ‘Duke’ (69.94%), ‘Zutano’ (64.77%), ‘Bacon’ (64.22%), ‘Good Friend’ (60.47%), ‘Super Fuerte’ (64.90%) and ‘Nabal Verde’ (61.…”

“…Oleic acid was the main fatty acid found, being the genotypes ‘Duke’ (69.94%), ‘Zutano’ (64.77%), ‘Bacon’ (64.22%), ‘Good Friend’ (60.47%), ‘Super Fuerte’ (64.90%) and ‘Nabal Verde’ (61. 78%) the ones that presented the highest contents like those reported by Fernandes et al ., (2018) and Nasri et al ., (2021) in different avocado genotypes from Spain and Morocco, respectively. The cultivar ‘Hass’ recorded the lowest oleic acid value (50.40%); however, Campos et al ., (2020) found for ‘Hass’ avocado grown under Peruvian coastal conditions (100 m.a.s.l) even lower oleic acid contents, between 38.45 and 42.65%.…”

“…Campos et al ., (2020) reported for Hass avocado from different harvest times, β‐sitosterol values within the range of 130.93–197.76 mg/100 g DM, followed by campesterol (13.99–25.24 mg/100 g DM) and stigmasterol (5.86 to 6.67 mg/100 g DM). The low stigmasterol content agrees with the values reported by several authors (Campos et al ., 2020; Nasri et al ., 2021). The phytosterol content of avocado is higher than that of other fruits, and its importance has been reported by several authors given its influence on the health of consumers by blocking cholesterol absorption and reducing the risks of cardiovascular diseases (Dreher & Davenport, 2013; Bhuyan et al ., 2019).…”