Abstract
Aim: Nutritional profiling of almond genetic resources for their utilization and further use in the breeding programme. Methodology: The nuts of 32 almond genotypes were collected from the experimental farm of ICAR-CITH, Srinagar. Using a Soxhlet fat apparatus and 100ml of petroleum ether as a solvent, almond oil was extracted from 5 g of ground kernel. The fatty acid content of almond oil was analyzed by GC 30 (Perkin Elmer Autosystem XL) equipped with a CP-Wax 52 CB column (Varian Inc.) (50 x 0.25 mm, 0.2 μm). Results: The total oil content in these genotypes ranged between 41.82% (CITH-A-21) and 51.86% (Waris). The major fatty acids found were oleic acid (53.70-80.81%), linoleic acid (11.63-36.88%), and palmitic acid (5.19-8.13%). Stearic acid (1.01-2.53%) was estimated at a lower proportion, while α-linolenic acid was found in trace amounts (0.05-0.18%). The oleic: linoleic acid ratio varied from 1.46 (CITH-A-21) to 6.95 (CITH-A-06), conversely the highest (115.42) and lowest (93.96) iodine values were recorded in CITH-A-21 and CITH-A-06, respectively. The lowest content of saturated fatty acids (6.32%) and the highest content of unsaturated fatty acids (93.69%) were found in CITH-A-17 whereas contrasting results were observed in Nonpareil. The highest monounsaturated fatty acids (80.81%) and lowest polyunsaturated fatty acids (11.71%) were found in CITH-A-6. Oleic acid content was negatively correlated with linoleic acid (r = -1.00), palmitic acid (r = -0.67) and stearic acid (r = -0.68). Principal component analysis indicated that among the fatty acids, the oleic acid, linoleic acid, and Oleic/Linoleic ratio were largely responsible for the separation on the PC 1. Among the different almond genotypes, CITH-A-17 and CITH-A-06 were found to be promising in terms of fatty acid composition. Interpretation: The present study identified the genotypes with a high Oleic/Linoleic acid ratio, which is important for crop improvement programme and commercialization of these genotypes. Further, the present study also confirms that the Kashmir region is suitable for growing almonds with fatty acids composition at par with commercial almond cultivars grown in major almond-growing countries in the world. Key words: Almond, Breeding programme, Fatty acid profile, Germplasm, Oil content
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