The seed oil from Pistacia terebinthus from Chios Island (Greece) as a promising source of functional crude material

Pistacia terebinthus (terebinth or turpentine tree), (Anacardiaceae) is a small tree growing widely in the Mediterranean area. This wild Pistacia species has been used in folk medicine and human nutrition [1], while its seeds and oil have shown several bioactive properties.

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical profile of P. terebinthus seed oil gathered wild from Chios, due to its unique and long historical use in Greece for special culinary purposes. Regarding the evaluation of its sterol and fatty acid profiles (GC-MS), it is noteworthy that squalene was identified as the most abundant metabolite in the unsaponified fraction (approx. 80%), followed by β-sitosterol. In the esterified fraction, oleic acid (61.94%), palmitic, linoleic and stearic acids were also detected. The total phenolic content of the oil (3.6 g GAE/kg oil) has been further determined using Folin-Ciocalteu method.

The results presented herein appeared comparatively superior of previous reported data [2], due to the high oleic acid content. Furthermore, the main composition of fatty acids of the studied oil is close to the olive oil’s, as well as the extremely high amount of squalene highlights its value. Squalene is a well-known skin health promoting agent.

In the framework of exploitation of forage from wild, as a sustainable and ecological friendly method for potential value-added materials, terebinth seeds and oil could be revealed as a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, especially omega-9 and omega-6, beneficiary to human health, with interest applications towards food and/or cosmetic areas.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
13. Dezember 2021

• References

• 1 Memet, 2021. Not. Bot. Horti Agrobo., 49(1), 12171-12171.
• 2 Yanık et al. 2013. JAOCS, 90(7), 999-1009.