The Mineral Source for Human Nutrition of Nuts in Different Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivars

Abstract

Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) have a significant place among the types of dried nuts in terms of nutrition and health owing to their special composition of fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers and phenolic antioxidants. Different hazelnut cultivars grown in Romania ('Cozia' , 'Romavel' , 'Valcea 22' , 'Roverd' and 'Red Lambert') were evaluated for their mineral composition. Microelements were determined by using ICP-MS and a Flame AAS. The average microelements concentrations in the cultivars have varied in the following ranges (mg 100 g -1 ): K, 591.75 -639.13; P, 300.67 -455.06; Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, Na, Al, Sr, Rb,. According to the daily microelement requirements, the quantity of 100 g hazelnut provided approximately 13% for K, 55% for P, 70% for Mg, 10% for Ca, 94% for Fe, 22 for Zn and 5.6% for Cr of the RDA. These results indicated that hazelnuts are a rich source of a number of important micro-elements and hazelnut can be an important source of microelements for human nutrition and health.

Influence of roasting conditions on health-related compounds in different nuts

“…The tested nuts were also rich in micronutrients, with highest amounts of Ca, Fe, Mg, P and Zn in almonds, whereas hazelnuts were rich in Cu and Mn (Table 2). These results are in concordance with others (Alasalvar & Shahidi, 2009;Cosmulescu, Botu, & Trandafir, 2013) with slight differences. Cosmulescu et al (2013) analysed the mineral composition of hazelnuts from different cultivars and showed that the mineral composition depends on cultivar conditions, which could explain variations in the mineral content of nuts and also in the content of macronutrients compared to our results.…”

Nut traits and nutritional composition of hazelnut (Corylus avellanaL.) as influenced by zinc fertilization

“…Among the studied elements, potassium was the most abundant mineral in hazelnut. Potassium contents in this study were higher than those reported by Açkurt et al , Özdemir and Akıncı and Güneş et al for ‘Tombul’ variety (5267.2, 5516 and 5602.0 mg kg −1 respectively), similar to that of Cosmulescu et al for Romanian varieties (6173.4 mg kg −1 ) and lower than that of Köksal et al for ‘Tombul’ variety (8140 mg kg −1 ). Potassium is important for a healthy nervous system and a normal heart rate .…”

“…Zinc fertilizers did not have a significant effect on the phosphorus content of kernels, which ranged from 3002.7 mg kg −1 at 0.2 kg Zn ha −1 to 3197.3 mg kg −1 at 1.6 kg Zn ha −1 (Table ). These phosphorus contents were higher than that found by Köksal et al (2880 mg kg −1 ) but lower than those reported by Özdemir and Akıncı (3298 mg kg −1 ) and Cosmulescu et al (3006.7–4550.6 mg kg −1 , Romanian cultivars) The mean phosphorus content in kernels was 3131.8 mg kg −1 with zinc fertilizations (Table ). Phosphorus is a component of bones and cells and is involved in energy processing and many other functions.…”

“…The variations in nutrient composition of ‘Tombul’ hazelnut variety with different zinc fertilizations are shown in Table . Minerals are of interest owing to their pro‐oxidant activity and health benefits . Zinc fertilizers did not have a significant effect on the phosphorus content of kernels, which ranged from 3002.7 mg kg −1 at 0.2 kg Zn ha −1 to 3197.3 mg kg −1 at 1.6 kg Zn ha −1 (Table ).…”

“…Several studies show that the major trace and heavy metals in hazelnut are K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Al, Ni, Cd, Co, etc . Moreover, many studies indicate that the mineral composition and protein, oil and ash contents of hazelnut are affected by climate, variety, composition of soil, use of fertilization and irrigation, method of cultivation, harvest year and geographical origin .…”