KERNEL QUALITY OF ALMONDS (PRUNUS-AMYGDALUS BATSCH) IN TERMS OF OIL CONTENT, FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION AND PHOSPHOLIPID CONTENT

Abstract

Mature kernels of 29 almond selections and locally bred almond 'Hybrid-15', growing under sub-tropical climates of Punjab, were analyzed for fat content and various oil constituents. Total lipids, phospholipid and free fatty acid contents, ranged from 44.70-56.10, 0.05-2.58 and 0.07-0.68% on dry weight basis, respectively. The ranges of palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids were 4.72-7.37, 0.89-1.67, 71.28-82.02 and 7.57-19.96%, respectively, oleic/linoleic acid ratio varied from 3.57 to 10.62. Values of coefficients of variations were low for total lipid contents, oleic and linoletic acids, as against the ratio of 27.50% for oleic to linoleic acids.