An Evaluation of Some Physicochemical Properties of Wild Pistachio Oil in Kerman Province

Bene, i.e. wild pistachio (pistacia atlantica), is considered one of the natural resources in Iran. The production potential of this product is so high that upon identifying it, it will be possible to produce a large amount of edible oil annually. In addition, it is well comparable with other oilseeds in terms of the oil content, so it could have a high position among edible oils.

In this study, some physicochemical properties of oil from whole wild pistachios, including oil percentage, fatty acid profile, thermal stability (by the Rancimat method), and the refractive index were evaluated. The samples were prepared randomly from domestic supply centers of the counties of Baft, Jiroft, and Shahr-e Babak in September 2017, and oil from three kilograms of each sample was extracted using the cold press method.

According to the results, the rate of oil extraction from whole wild pistachios varied from 27.5 to 28.5%, with unsaturated fatty acids having formed 83% of which. In addition, oleic acid was the predominant fatty acid with 52 to 54%, with the highest amount of which having been observed in the sample of the Baft County. The results of thermal stability and the refractive index were evaluated to be similar in the three oil samples. Based on the results, there was no statistically significant difference in thermal stability and the refractive index among the samples (P≥ 0.05).

The investigation of the fatty acid profile of wild pistachio oil showed that it is one of the most valuable oils in terms of the oleic acid content, being almost close to olive oil in this respect. Given the higher level of monounsaturated fatty acids (especially oleic acid) than its polyunsaturated counterparts, such as linoleic and linolenic acids, wild pistachio oil has suitable thermal stability.