Fernandes, LuanaPereira, J.A.Lopéz-Cortés, IsabelSalazar, Domingo M.Ramalhosa, ElsaCasal, Susana2015-05-112015-05-112015Fernandes, Luana; Pereira, José Alberto; Lopéz-Cortés, Isabel; Salazar, Domingo M.; Ramalhosa, Elsa; Casal, Susana (2015). Fatty acid, vitamin E and sterols composition of seed oils from nine different pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars grown in Spain. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. ISSN 0889-1575. 39, p. 13-220889-1575http://hdl.handle.net/10198/11815The present study was conducted to determine the major bioactive lipid components of the seed oils of nine pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars grown in Spain, namely fatty acids, vitamin E and sterol compositions. The seeds yielded oil contents ranging from 4.44% to 13.70% of dry matter and showed high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (86.7–90.3%). The predominant fatty acid was 9,11,13-octadeca-trienoic acid (punicic acid), a conjugated linolenic acid characteristic from pomegranate seeds, with contents between 3523 and 10,586 mg/100 g of seeds. Total tocopherol contents ranged from 135 to 525 mg/100 g of oil, with g-tocopherol as the main component, and with diferente compositional ratios between varieties. Concerning sterols in the oil, total amounts ranged from 364 to 553 mg/100 g, with a predominance of b-sitosterol. After performing principal component analysis,intercultivar differences were found, a potential tool for cultivar authenticity purposes. Moreover, the ingestion of pomegranate arils, with their seeds, increases their beneficial health properties.engPomegranateSeed oilFatty acidTocopherolSterolCarotenoidSpanish cultivarsBiodiversity and nutritionCultivar differenceFood analysisFood compositionjournal article10.1016/j.jfca.2014.11.006