Chemical Composition, Quality parameters, and Fatty Acid Content of Hass Avocado (Persea americana)

Hass avocados produced for the first time in the southeast region of Buenos Aires, Argentina, were characterized for chemical composition, fatty acid profile, and quality parameters during different months of the harvest cycle. The region’s temperate climate produced fruit with high dry matter (28.5–32.3%), elevated lipid content (16.5–19.6%), and a favorable fatty acid composition (14.3% saturated fatty acids, 75.2–71.5% monounsaturated fatty acids, and 10.3–13.1% polyunsaturated fatty acids) during September-December harvests. Oleic acid predominated (67 and 63% in September and December, respectively), while vaccenic acid showed an increase over time (3 to 4%). Low atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices (0.17 and 0.32, respectively) confirmed the health-promoting nature of the lipid fraction. These results indicate that Hass avocados from this region could be positioned as a high-quality product differentiated by their origin and harvest timing, offering added value in terms of nutritional characteristics.