Sterol, aliphatic alcohol and tocopherol contents of Quercus ilex and Quercus suber from different regions

• Samples of two species of Quercus ilex and Quercus suber were picked from different locations in Tunisia.
• Sterol, aliphatic alcohol and tocopherol composition were investigated.
• Statistical analyses were used to discriminate between genuses.
• Stigmasterol, Δ7-avenasterol, Δ5,24-stigmastadienol, γ-tocopherol, and C-24 were the most differentiating variables.

Quercus ilex and Quercus suber are grown typically in the Mediterranean area. The aim of the present work was to study the content of sterols, aliphatic alcohols and tocopherols in acorn oil of Q. ilex and Q. suber from different locations in Tunisia. The level of total sterols ranged from 4632.71 to 10985.10 mg/kg (Q. ilex) and from 6563.40 to 11576.09 mg/kg (Q. suber), and β-sitosterol was the predominant form (ca. 90%). The total content of aliphatic alcohols was between 1650.39 and 2969.99 mg/kg for Q. ilex and from 1532.81 to 3575.39 mg/kg for Q. suber, and tetracosanol was the most abundant (ca. 50%). The average tocopherol content was slightly higher in Q. ilex (ca. 190 mg/kg) than Q. suber acorn oil (ca. 140 mg/kg). Two isoform (α and γ) were detected and γ- tocopherol was the major compound (more than 90%). All these results highlight the possibility of using Q. ilex and Q. suber as a potential resource of biomolecules for the development of functional foods.