Antioxidant capacity, physicochemical properties, thermal behavior, and oxidative stability of nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) kernel oil

Abstract

The current work is focused on the evaluation of oxidative stability, thermal behavior, antioxidant activity, phenolic content, and physicochemical properties of nectarine kernel oil. The antioxidant activity of the oil was remarkably high, that is, IC50 = 95.1 μg/ml. Thermogravimetric experiments indicated thermal stability of the oil at temperatures up to 261°C, where only 2% mass loss was observed, and the oil decomposition occurred in three main stages. Total phenolic content was found to be 334.5 mg GAE/100 g oil. The extracted oil was highly stable for up to 20.92 hr, as per calculations by the Rancimat method. Gas chromatography analysis demonstrated that the extracted oil consisted mainly of unsaturated fatty acids that formed some 92% wt% of the total content. Among others, the fatty acids were mainly composed of oleic (74.55%) and linoleic acids (16.85%). The extracted oil was characterized. The results highlighted the potentials of the nectarine kernel oil for enriching various pharmaceutical products and human nutrition. Practical applications Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) is of high commercial value thanks to its outstanding properties such as oxidative stability, thermal behavior, and antioxidant activity. This investigation's outcomes are beneficial to the research and development activities focused on the commercial-scale processing of nectarine seeds.