Functional and sensory properties of pistachio nuts as affected by cultivar

Abstract

BACKGROUND Modern agriculture allows farmers to choose among different cultivars of the same fruit to fulfill their agronomic needs and consumers' demands; however, there are only a few studies that describe and compare key functional and sensory properties of different pistachio cultivars. The main objective of this study was to compare eight pistachio cultivars by analyzing key functional properties (phenolic compounds, polymeric procyanidins, antioxidant activity, and inhibition of α‐amylase and β‐glucosidase), aromatic compounds with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and by examining their sensory properties with a trained panel. RESULTS A combination of LC‐PDA‐MS‐QTof (liquid chromatography photodiode array quadrupole time‐off flight mass spectrometry) and electrospray ionization was used to determine two phenolic acids, nine flavonols, one anthocyanin, and three flavan‐3‐ols in pistachio cultivars, with a total concentration ranging from 500 to 6065 mg 100 g−1 dry weight (dw). The total polymeric procyanidins concentrations oscillated between 348 and 5919 mg 100 g−1 dw, (−)‐epicatechin being the major monomer contributor. Pinene was the most abundant volatile compound (∼200 mg kg−1 dw), and, in the sensory analysis of samples, 23 sensory attributes were found to differ significantly among the cultivars. CONCLUSION The cultivar ‘Larnaka’ stood out as having the best functional profile (high polyphenolic content, high antioxidant activity, and high values of α‐amylase and β‐glucosidase inhibition), and the cultivars ‘Kastel’ and ‘Kerman’ showed the most attractive sensory properties, mainly the most intense flavor. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Antioxidant, Antimutagenic and Cytoprotective Properties of Hydrosos Pistachio Nuts

“…In the case of pistachios that were obtained under different irrigation treatments, nuts from T2-trees had a higher antioxidant activity than samples from trees that were subjected to the other two irrigation treatments (T0 and T1), with an antioxidant activity of 3.92 mM TE g −1 versus 2.86 and 2.96 mM TE g −1 , respectively (Table 1). In a study evaluating key characteristics of eight pistachio cultivars by Noguera-Artiaga [16], similar values of antioxidant activity for the Kerman cultivar were found, the same cultivar used in the current experiment.…”

Nuts as functional foods: Variation of nutritional and phytochemical profiles and their in vitro bioactive properties

“…The chemical composition of nuts varies significantly according to the type of nuts, genotype, and differences between cultivars. Additionally, some researchers ( Noguera-Artiaga et al, 2019 , Persic et al, 2018 ) have noted that various factors such as agronomic practices and environmental conditions including temperature, rainfall, and exposure to light during growth, and finally maturity level at harvest and condition of the postharvest storage period have a significant influence on chemical composition and content of bioactive compounds. Therefore, it is important to know that nuts commonly purchased in commercial shops present a valuable range of nutritional compounds and are additionally rich in bioactive compounds.…”

Fermented beverage obtained from hydroSOStainable pistachios

“…The hydroSOS samples (control and enriched) had the lowest content of these compounds leading to the lowest total content of volatile compounds. These differences in compounds, such as limonene or nonanal, could be responsible for the differences in the odor, aroma, and flavor of the fermented beverages and could explain the complexity of some of the samples (Noguera‐Artiaga et al., 2019).…”

“…Among the 20 compounds identified, pistachio beverages fermented with the MA400 starter culture presented significant differences in four of them: α‐pinene, 2‐heptenal, nonanal, and 3‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone (Table 7). α‐Pinene is the predominant and key compound in the characteristic odor of this nut (Hojjati, Calín‐Sánchez, Razavi, & Carbonell‐Barrachina, 2013; Noguera‐Artiaga et al., 2019; Penci et al., 2013); its content was higher in HC and HE beverages (∼24 and 28 µg/L, respectively). 2‐Heptenal, the second major compound, had the lowest contents in the HE sample (6.46 µg/L).…”