Amaral, Joana S.Citová, IvanaMendes, E.Assunção, A.Seabra, Rosa M.Oliveira, Beatriz2010-01-302010-01-302004Amaral, J.S.; Citóva, I.; Mendes, E.; Assunção, A.; Seabra, R.; Oliveira, M.B.P.P. (2004)- Sterol composition of hazelnuts from different Portuguese cultivars. In Euronalysis XIII Conference. Salamanca.http://hdl.handle.net/10198/1581The consumption of the typicaI Mediterranean diet is associated with lower mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer (1 ). This diet is low in meat and higher in fish, fruits and vegetables, also having nuts as valuable components. There Is a growing interest in evaluating nut's role in a heart healthy diet and several studies have been made supporting a role for nuts in reducing CHD (1 ). Among nut species, hazelnuts are widely appreciated. They are consumed as a fruit but are also used as an ingredient in confectionary products. Hazelnuts are rich in phytosterols, which due to their structural similarity with cholesterol, inhibit its Intestinal absorption, thereby reducing blood cholesterol. Besides, sterol composition is an important tool in the assessment of identity and quality of vegetable oils (2). In this work, the sterol composition of oils extracted from different cultivars of hazelnuts grown in Portugal was evaluated by gas-liquid chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GLC/FID). The oil was sap onified and the unsaponifiable fraction was isolated by solid-phase extraction on an aluminium column.engconference object