Physical fruit traits, proximate composition, fatty acid and elemental profiling of almond [Prunus dulcis Mill. DA Webb] kernels from ten genotypes grown in southern Morocco

Abstract

This study was carried out with the aim to evaluate physical fruit traits, proximate composition, elemental content, and fatty acid profiling of almond kernels from ten genotypes (sweet and bitter) grown under various agro-ecological conditions (Tafraout, Igherm, Taliouine, Tiznit and Essaouira) in southern Morocco. During the ripening stage, samples (almond kernels) belonging to these genotypes were subjected to physical fruits measurements (weight, length, width, and thickness). Proximate composition determination (crude protein, crude oil, ash and moisture) was carried out on the powder of kernels for each genotype. Carbohydrates as well as energy value were calculated. Elemental profiling of almond kernels consisted of ten macro and microelements was determined as well as the fatty acids composition of almond extracted oil. The results of this study showed wide variations among the investigated genotypes in terms of crude protein (17.14 ± 2.14 to 25.12 ± 1.23 g/100 g), oil content (51.12 ± 2.99 to 56.26 ± 3.22 g/100 g), ash content (5.11 ± 0.45 to 6.79 ± 0.52 g/100 g), moisture content (2.55 ± 0.38 to 4.34 ± 1.16 g/100 g), carbohydrates (13.34 ± 1.54 to 18.59 ± 2.22 g/100 g) and energy value (549.80 ± 37.04 to 591.03 ± 38.56 kcal/100 g DM). A similar trend was observed in the case of mineral profiling. K (9796.08 ± 793.49 to 14 197.84 ± 1150.03 mg/kg) was the major mineral in all genotypes. This was followed by P (8190.75 ± 663.46 to 11 061.68 ± 895.96 mg/kg), Ca (3067.53 ± 248.47 to 5404.93 ± 437.79 mg/kg) and Mg (4002.85 ± 324.22 to 5101.72 ± 413.23 mg/kg), while Na, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn and B were detected in small quantities. Our results revealed six fatty acids with a dominance of oleic acid, which varied widely among the studied genotypes and extraction technique. Solvent extraction performed better in terms of oil content. The studied genotypes showed a great pomological potential that could be exploited for their fruits such as for breeding purposes.

Lobularia libyca: Phytochemical Profiling, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity Using In Vitro and In Silico Studies

“…Among the analyzed macro-and microelements, molybdenum (V = 2.47%) turned out to be the most stable, while phosphorus (V = 24.06%) and calcium (V = 16.80%) turned out to be the most variable (Table 2). A similar tendency was observed in the case of mineral profiling of other plant species assessed in Morocco [47].…”

“…These results were confirmed by ANOVA and descriptive statistical analysis. According to Ibourki [47], the obtained results show that L. libyca may be a promising source of essential minerals in the human diet and in other applications.…”

Proximate Composition, Physicochemical, and Lipids Profiling and Elemental Profiling of Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Grown in Morocco

“…Moisture content is an important factor in the stability of oilseeds, especially during storage [ 24 ]. This is also one of the interesting factors affecting the quality of the oil [ 41 ], as a high water content leads to the degradation of seeds, producing a rancid oil of poor quality [ 42 ]. The moisture content of rapeseed was 0.792 ± 0.048 g/100 g, significantly lower than the moisture content of sunflower (1.96 ± 0.03 g/100 g).…”

“…In this regard, sunflower was the richest in PUFAs [ 87 ]; the content of linoleic acid (18 : 2) (omega‐6) in sunflower oil could be increased to 55.7%, being the main fatty acid in this oil, while, in the latter, oleic acid (C18 : 1) constituted the second most notable amount (31.2%). Linolenic acid, a highly oxidizable molecule [ 41 , 70 ], is also present in very low concentration in sunflower oil (usually less than 0.3%) ( Table 4 ). The results obtained in sunflower oil were in agreement with those found by Mwakasege et al (2021) [ 88 ].…”

Improvement of thermo-resistance and quality of soybean oil by blending with cold-pressed oils using simplex lattice mixture design

“…For example, the peroxide value of nigella oil reported by Kiralan et al (2017) Karoui et al (2020), who studied lentisk oil, obtained respectively 6 and 1.92 meq O 2 /kg for peroxide value and 14.41 and 4.14% for acidity. Genotype and several preharvest and post-harvest factors like cultivar, growing area, environmental condition, soil, harvest period, maturity, storage conditions, and oil extraction process can largely influence the physicochemical characteristics (Mele et al, 2018;Salamatullah et al, 2021;Ibourki et al, 2022).…”