Morphological and Chemical Differentiation between Tunisian Populations of Pinus halepensis,Pinus brutia,and Pinus pinaster |
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| Authors: | Mariem Khouja Rita C Alves Diana Melo Anabela S G Costa M Antonia Nunes Abdelhamid Khaldi M Beatriz P P Oliveira Chokri Messaoud |
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| Institution: | 1. National Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Department of Biology, Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology and Valorization of Medicinal Phytoresources, University of Carthage, B.P. 676, 1080 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia;2. REQUIMTE/LAQV, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal;3. National research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests, University of Carthage, B.P. 10 Ariana, 2080 Tunis, Tunisia |
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| Abstract: | The lipid fraction of seeds from different pine species and populations was studied regarding total lipid content, fatty acid profile and vitamin E composition. The investigated seeds contained a high percentage of lipid (13.6 to 31.5 %). Lipid fractions were found to be rich in vitamin E, which varied significantly among species and populations. P. halepensis (Ph?Hn) showed the highest content of vitamin E (256.3 mg/kg of seeds) and the uppermost content of α-tocopherol (44 mg/kg). However, P. halepensis (Ph?Kas) was the richest in γ-tocopherol (204.9 mg/kg). Lipid fractions had a low content of δ-tocopherol (1.2 to 3.6 mg/kg. The highest content of γ-tocotrienol (～18 %) was determined for P. halepensis (Ph?Dc and Ph?Hn). Thirteen fatty acids were identified by GC-FID with significant variation between the investigated species. The linoleic acid was the major fatty acid followed by oleic acid and palmitic acid. The chemical differentiation among species for the composition of fatty acids and vitamin E was confirmed by PCA. Significant correlations were observed between the content of vitamin E and fatty acids and ecological parameters of P. halepensis populations. |
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| Keywords: | Pinus halepensis Pinus brutia Pinus pinaster lipid fraction vitamin E fatty acids |
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