Chemical composition analysis of seed oil from five wild almond species in China as potential edible oil resource for the future

The genetic resources of wild almond have not been paid enough attention for oil chemical components and uses. In the present study analyses concerning the composition of fatty acids, vitamin E, sterols, and oxidative stability of five wild almond species (Prunus tangutica, P. pedunculata, P. mongolica, P. tenella, and P. triloba) seed oils were performed. The oil content of seeds ranged from 43.6% to 50.4% and the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids was high (93.0%-97.9%). The predominant fatty acid was oleic acid and linolenic acid with contents from 17.0% for P. tangutica to 31.1% for P. mongolica. Four tocopherols, with predominance of homologs alpha and beta, were detected in each tested sample. Total tocopherol contents ranged from 433.9 to 682.8 mg/kg of oil, and the ratio of the composition of different species was different. The total amount of oil sterols ranged from 303.5 to 378.5 mg/100 g, wherein beta-Sitosterol,Delta(5)-avenasterol, and campesterol were the main constituents. While the stability of the oil measured by Rancimat test ranged from 7.17 to 23.45 h, and the highest was P. pedunculata. Its oxidation stability was apparently higher than that of peanut, olive oil, and other oils. After performing principal component analysis, a potential tool for species authenticity purposes, interspecies differences were found. The wild almond oil in this study can be considered as a potential edible vegetable oil in human food. (C) 2018 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.