Comparison of fatty acid composition of fruit oil from acorn (Persian oak), Pistacia atlantica Desf. and four wild almond species

Oak, pistachio, andwild almond treescover a vast area of Zagros forests. Fruits of these species have a lot of characteristics as a nutrition source. This study was aimed to comparison of fatty acid composition of fruit oil from Acorn, Pistacia atlantica Desf. and four wild almond species (A. scoparia, A. arabica, A. elaeagnifolia and A. haussknechtii). This research was carried out in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. At the first step in each region, 5 trees were selected, randomly. Then, 1 kg seed was harvested from different parts of each tree crown. The oils of the dried powder from fruits were extracted by the Soxhlet method.The results indicated that the main fatty acids in the six species were monounsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid. MUFA in the amygdalus species, Pistacia atlantica and Quercus brantti seeds were 80.41%, 51.7% and 45.8%, respectively. Also, PUFA in the amygdalus species, Pistacia atlantica and Quercus brantti seeds were 13.3%, 22.8% and 25.4%, respectively. Saturated fatty acids of the Pistacia atlantica were higher than other species. The fruits of wild almond species, specially Amygdalus scoparia and Amygdalus Arabica, are more important because of more desirable fatty acid composition (monounsaturated fatty acids) compared to other species.