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Published on: September 27, 2024
Chemical profiling of Portuguese Pinus pinea L. nuts
Isabel Evaristo1, Dora Batista, Isabel Correia
1Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biológicos, I.P., Quinta do Marquês, P-2780-159 Oeiras, Portugal. Isabel.evaristo@inrb.pt
Background:
The first detailed chemical characterisation of Portuguese pine nut (Pinus pinea L.) is reported concerning proximate composition, fatty acid, mineral and vitamin contents.
Results:
Based on the analysis of 27 different populations, pine nuts were characterised by high contents of fat (47.7 g per 100 g dry matter (DM)), protein (33.8 g per 100 g DM) and phosphorus (1130 mg per 100 g DM) and low contents of moisture (5.9 g per 100 g DM) and starch (3.5 g per 100 g DM). They were also found to be a good source of zinc, iron and manganese.
Conclusion:
Mineral composition seemed to be most prone to variation, suggesting its potentially useful role in discriminating Mediterranean pine nuts. A significant variability was found in the nut composition of Portuguese P. pinea populations.
