FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF SEED OILS FROM IMPORTANT SPANISH POMEGRANATE CULTIVARS

The seed fatty acids composition from five Spanish pomegranate cultivars was determined. Pomegranate seeds yielded oil contents ranging from 69-81 g kg(-1) of dry matter for sweet cv. to 131 g kg(-1) and 105 g kg(-1) for the sour-sweet and sour cv., respectively. The highest levels of fatty acids were those of polyunsaturated ones (from 80.41 to 91.03%). The predominant unsaturated fatty acid was punicic (66.76-79.29%). Data on punicic acids were reported here for the first time for sour and sour-sweet Spanish pomegranate cv. This relatively high quantity of unsaturated fatty acids could be of interest for human nutrition and may definitively drive breeding selection programs.