Abstract
The present study is aimed to identifying the acorn fruit oil composition of three Mediterranean white oak group species, Quercus aegilops (QA), Quercus infectoria (QI), and Quercus calliprinus (QC). Samples were estimated for the oil contents of acorn fruits, oil chemical and physical constants, fatty acid profile, tocopherols, phenolic compounds, and sterols.The oil content, expressed as dry weight, was found to be 3.40-7.51%. The physical and chemical constants included specific gravity 0.912-0.922, refractive index 1.4529-1.4645, specific extinction at 232 nm 2.497-2.536 and at 270 nm 1.495-2.037, iodine value 75.2-87.6, and saponification value 192.6-219.4. The fatty acid compositions were determined by GC as methyl esters. The most abundant fatty acids were oleic (53.3-56.1%), linoleic 21.3-23.4%, palmitic 17.8-18.7%, linolenic 1.5-1.6% and stearic acid 1.02-1.60%. The Tocopherol content was high in the range of 1440-1783 mg kg -1 , γ-tocopherol constituted 84-91% of total tocopherols. Phenolic compounds were in remarkable amounts in all the three species 84-109 mg gallic acid kg -1 oil. Total sterol contents were between 2040-2480 mg kg -1 oil, with β-sitosterol being the main component comprising of 77.20-84.61%, followed by ∆ 5 -avenasterol (5.8-11.4%), campesterol (3.6-4.5%), and stigmasterol (2.6-3.8). The cholesterol content was relatively high (0.42-0.55%).
Highlights
Oak acorns, one of the species of Quercus genus, are of vital importance for both humans and animals
The oil contents of acorn cotyledons of the species Quercus aegilops (QA) 7.51%, and Quercus infectoria (QI) 6.57%, were about two times higher than that of Quercus calliprinus (QC) 3.40%. This result agrees with the results reported by (Özcan, 2006 and Lopes et al, 2005) who found that the oil content of some species of acorn ranged between 3.8 and 9.1%
Acorn oil might be considered similar to other plant oil sources because of its health benefits or industrial and pharmaceutical applications, as in the case of amaranth and wheat germ, whose oil contents are about 6.34% and 10%, respectively (LeónCamacho et al, 2001; Sonntag, 1979)
Summary
One of the species of Quercus genus, are of vital importance for both humans and animals. Homo sapiens have been using acorns as food for thousands of years, wherever oaks exist. In Algeria, Morocco, and in the eastern U.S.A, acorn oil has been used as cooking oil and as a salve for burns and injuries (Smith, 1950; Hedrick, 1919). In Jordan, oak acorns have been used as food either directly or as an ingredient in products such as bread, cake, and coffee (Rababah et al, 2008; Jacknis, 2004). Oak acorns have been extensively under exploitation as a fodder for cattle (Bouderoua and Selselet-Attou, 2003; Nowar et al, 1994; Al-Jassim et al, 1988)
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