Abstract: (10194 Views)
Walnut is considered a valuable nut crop because of high valued nutritional compounds like unsaturated fatty acids. The aim of this study was to determine protein, oil and fatty acid compounds of some walnut cultivars and genotypes. The investigated cultivars were ’Chandler‘, ’Hartley‘, ’Pedro‘, ’Serr‘, ’Z60‘, ’Z63‘ and ’Z30‘. The oil content was measured using the soxhlet extraction method based on dry weight, and the percentage varied from 60 to 75 percent. Fatty acids compositions were measured using gas chromatography (GC). The results in mentioned cultivars showed that the unsaturated fatty acid compounds were dominant in walnut oil. The main fatty acids were linoleic acid (44.84-68.44%), linolenic acid (15.31-23.92%), oleic acid (8.02-31.62%), palmitic acid (2.42-6.44%) and stearic acid (1.65-2.48%), respectively. Protein content varied from 14.67 to 20.38%. In conclusion, ’Hartley, had the highest and ’Z63‘ had the lowest unsaturated fatty acids among the studied cultivars. ’Z63‘ had the lowest and ’Z60‘ had the highest saturated fatty acids among all of the cultivars.
Received: 2010/11/25 | Accepted: 2011/05/25 | Published: 2013/01/23