Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4514895 | Industrial Crops and Products | 2010 | 7 Pages |
Seed, pericarp and whole berry of Myrtus communis var. italica were compared in terms of oils, glycerolipid classes and fatty acids. The fruit is composed of pericarp and approximately 9 seeds which constituted 63.5 and 36.5% of the whole ripe fruit, respectively. The latter presented a weight of 8.8 g% fruits while seed had only 0.5 g% seeds. The moisture contents were 80.1% in pericarp, 72% in whole fruit and 39.7% in seed. The oil yield of seed (11.7%) was significantly higher than that of whole fruit (5.9%) and pericarp (2.1%). Total lipid amounts were 61.26 mg/g in seed, 28.97 mg/g in whole fruit and 4.14 mg/g in pericarp. The amounts of polar glycerolipids were lower than those of neutral glycerolipids in all samples. Triacylglycerol constituted the main neutral glycerolipid with 57.47 mg/g in seed, 25.68 mg/g in whole fruit and 1.67 mg/g in pericarp. The predominant fatty acids of total lipids and different glycerolipid classes were linoleic, palmitic, oleic and α-linolenic acids in all samples but with different proportions. Whole fruit, seed and pericarp provided low yields of oil but they were a rich source of essential fatty acids which will be important as an indication of the potentially nutraceutical and industrial utility of myrtle fruit.