Δ5-olefinic acids in the edible seeds of nut pines (Pinus cembroides edulis) from the United States

• Published in: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society Vol. 74; no. 5; pp. 613 - 614
• Main Authors: Wolff, Robert L, Marpeau, Anne M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 1997; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acids; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical constitution; Fat industries; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Nut pine seed oil; Nuts; Oils & fats; Pinus cembroides; Pinus cembroides edulis; Plant physiology and development; Seeds; Species; Δ5‐olefinic acids; United States > US; Chemical analysis; Oilseed; Gymnospermae; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Qualitative analysis; Chemical composition; Vegetal oil; Pine seed; Fatty acids; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0003-021X; 1558-9331
• DOI: 10.1007/s11746-997-0191-0

The fatty acid composition of the edible seeds from Pinus cembroides edulis (a nut pine), that might have been a commercial source of Δ5-olefinic acids in the United States, has been established. The dehulled seeds are rich in oil (64% by weight) and are characterized by high levels of both oleic and linoleic acids (ca. 47 and 41%, respectively), with only 10% of saturated acids. Δ5-Olefinic acids, which were not reported previously in this species, are exceptionally low as compared to most other conifer species: 5,9-18:2 acid, 0.1%; 5,9,12-18:3 acid, 0.4%; 5, 11, 14-20:3 acid, 0.3%. In this respect, P. cembroides edulis seed oil closely resembles that of P. pinea (a circum-Mediterranean species), which emphasizes the morphological and taxonomic relationship between the sections to which the two species belong (Parryana and Pinea, respectively).