Eight Moroccan avocado varieties were analyzed for their nutritional composition and physicochemical properties. The nutritional contents of the sample were determined through the evaluation of the moisture, oil, ash, protein, and carbohydrate contents, and energy value calculation. Additionally, macroelements (Ca, Mg, and Na) and microelements (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) were determined in the mineral profile. Oils were examined also for their fatty acid, phytosterol, and tocopherol profiles. As a result of the study, the avocado presents significant differences between the eight studied varieties (p
Walnut oil, like all vegetable oils, is chemically unstable because of the sensitivity of its unsaturated fatty acids to the oxidation phenomenon. This phenomenon is based on a succession of chemical reactions, under the influence of temperature or storage conditions, that always lead to a considerable change in the quality of the oil by promoting the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids through the degradation of their C-C double bonds, leading to the formation of secondary oxidation products that reduce the nutritional values of the oil. This research examines the oxidative stability of roasted and unroasted cold-pressed walnut oils under accelerated storage conditions. The oxidative stability of both oils was evaluated using physicochemical parameters: chemical composition (fatty acids, phytosterols, and tocopherols), pigment content (chlorophyll and carotenoids), specific extinction coefficients (K232 and K270), and quality indicators (acid and peroxide value) as well as the evaluation of radical scavenging activity by the DPPH method. The changes in these parameters were evaluated within 60 days at 60 ± 2 °C. The results showed that the levels of total phytosterols, the parameters of the acid and peroxide value, K232 and K270, increased slightly for both oils as well as the total tocopherol content and the antioxidant activity affected by the roasting process. In contrast, the fatty acid profiles did not change considerably during the 60 days of our study. After two months of oil treatment at 60 °C, the studied oils still showed an excellent physicochemical profile, which allows us to conclude that these oils are stable and can withstand such conditions. This may be due to the considerable content of tocopherols (vitamin E), which acts as an antioxidant.
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of peanut varieties cultivated in Morocco (Virginia and Valencia) and extraction methods (cold press, CP; Soxhlet, Sox and maceration, and Mac) on the fatty acid profile, phytosterol, and tocopherol contents, quality characteristics, and antioxidant potential of peanut seed oil. The DPPH method was used to determine the antioxidant activity of the oils. The results revealed that fatty acid content was slightly affected by the extraction technique. However, the CP method was shown to be an excellent approach for extracting oil with desirable quality features compared to the Sox and Mac methods. Furthermore, the peanut oil extracted via CP carried a higher amount of bioactive compounds and exhibited remarkable antioxidant activities. The findings also revealed higher oleic acid levels from the Virginia oil, ranging from 56.46% to 56.99%. Besides, a higher total phytosterol and tocopherol content and DPPH scavenging capacity were obtained from the Valencia oil. Analyzing the study, it can be inferred that extraction method and variety both affect the composition of the peanut oil's bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. This information is relevant for extracting peanut oil with a greater level of compounds of industrial interest.
The aims of this study are the phytochemical exploration and food valorization of Schinus molle L. (S. molle) and Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi (S. terebinthifolia) from the Rabat, Morocco. Gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to analyze the chemical composition of the oils extracted from both species by soxhlet and maceration. Moreover, physicochemical characteristics such as lipid quality indexes such as thrombogenic index (TI), atherogenic index (AI), oxidation susceptibility (OS), and calculated oxidability (Cox) were determined. These characteristics included percentage acidity, peroxide, saponification, iodine, specific extinction values, chlorophyll, and carotenoid pigments. As results, the oil yields varied from 7% (S. molle) to 13% (S. terebinthifolia). In addition, unsaturated fatty acids represented the major fraction for S. terebinthifolia (79%) and S. molle (81%). However, S. terebinthifolia contains more saturated fatty acids (20%) than S. molle (16%) with a predominance of linoleic acid (59.53% and 55%, C18,2), oleic acid (19.29% and 21.69%, C18,1), and palmitic acid (12.56% and 15.48%, C16,0) in S. molle and S. terebinthifolia, respectively. Moreover, the main sterols are β-sitosterol followed by campesterol and then Δ-5-avenasterol, while β-sitosterol varies according to the species and the extraction method. Results revealed also that campesterol is influenced by the extraction results in a content of 179.66 mg/kg (soxhlet) and 63.48 mg/kg (maceration) for S. molle, while S. terebinthifolia yeilds concentrations of 170 mg/kg and 138 mg/kg, then Δ-5-avenasterol, which present with (117 mg/kg and 136 mg/kg), (34 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) of the total amount of sterols for the oils extracted by soxhlet and maceration, respectively. In addition, there are favorable physicochemical properties for all oils, such as chlorophylls (0.4 to 0.8 mg/kg) and carotenoids (0.7 to 2 mg/kg). However, further investigations are needed to determine other chemical compounds of both extracts as well as to evaluate their biological and health benefits.
The present study investigated and compared the quality and chemical composition of Moroccan walnut (Juglans regia L.) oil. This study used three extraction techniques: cold pressing (CP), soxhlet extraction (SE), and ultrasonic extraction (UE). The findings showed that soxhlet extraction gave a significantly higher oil yield compared to the other techniques used in this work (65.10% with p < 0.05), while cold pressing and ultrasonic extraction gave similar yields: 54.51% and 56.66%, respectively (p > 0.05). Chemical composition analysis was carried out by GC−MS and allowed 11 compounds to be identified, of which the major compound was linoleic acid (C18:2), with a similar percentage (between 57.08% and 57.84%) for the three extractions (p > 0.05). Regarding the carotenoid pigment, the extraction technique significantly affected its content (p < 0.05) with values between 10.11 mg/kg and 14.83 mg/kg. The chlorophyll pigment presented a similar content in both oils extracted by SE and UE (p > 0.05), 0.20 mg/kg and 0.16 mg/kg, respectively, while the lowest content was recorded in the cold-pressed oil with 0.13 mg/kg. Moreover, the analysis of phytosterols in walnut oil revealed significantly different contents (p < 0.05) for the three extraction techniques (between 1168.55 mg/kg and 1306.03 mg/kg). In addition, the analyses of tocopherol composition revealed that γ-tocopherol represented the main tocopherol isomer in all studied oils and the CP technique provided the highest content of total tocopherol with 857.65 mg/kg, followed by SE and UE with contents of 454.97 mg/kg and 146.31 mg/kg, respectively, which were significantly different (p < 0.05). This study presents essential information for producers of nutritional oils and, in particular, walnut oil; this information helps to select the appropriate method to produce walnut oil with the targeted quality properties and chemical compositions for the desired purpose. It also helps to form a scientific basis for further research on this plant in order to provide a vision for the possibility of exploiting these oils in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food fields.