The influence of seasonality on total fat and fatty acids profile, protein and amino acid, and antioxidant properties of traditional Italian flours from different chestnut cultivars

Abstract

Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is an important fruit crop, representing a fundamental economic resource in rural areas. The consumption of chestnut fruit has increased in recent years, after decades of neglect due to high prices and loss of food traditions. Nevertheless, chestnut is a precious food, since it is a source of starch, essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins. Moreover, chestnut flour can be used in gluten free formulations. The aim of this work was to evaluate by proximate analysis the fatty acids and amino acids profile and the antioxidant capacity of nine native cultivars from Emilia Romagna region, for two consecutive years. By using 2-way ANOVA analysis considering the factors “C. sativa cultivar” and “harvesting year” it was possible to state the non-dependence of carbohydrates on these two factors. On the contrary, the variability of crude fat, crude proteins, free amino acids profile and total antioxidant capacity depend both on cultivar and harvesting year. Chestnut flours are a good source of oleic and linoleic acids: their levels, together with that of palmitic acid, are affected by the cultivar; stearic and linolenic acid variability is instead due to the harvest year. The nutritional data from this research can provide useful information for the bakery industry, in view of the new trend of functional products able to merge tradition and innovation.