Purpose: This study determines the total FA composition in Pistacia vera (cultivar Napoletana) harvested in a restricted geographical area of Sicily as a guarantee of the typicality of the pistachio.
Methods: Pistachio nuts were harvested at the end of August from different sites located in the Platani river valley. Fat extraction from nut oil was carried out using an Accelerated Solvent Extraction system. The esterification of FAs to FA methyl esters was performed using an alkylation derivatization reagent, and analysed by a gas-chromatographic technique with FID detector using a 100% polyethylene glycol capillary column. The relative percentage of each FA was calculated on the basis of the peak area of a FA species to the total peak area of whole FA in the oil sample.
Results: The classes of monounsaturated, saturated and polyunsaturated FAs were determined. Our data showed that the samples were composed of oleic (69.9 %), palmitic (9.8 %), linoleic (18.0 %) and stearic (1.2 %) acids, as well as palmitoleic (0.8 %), linolenic (0.4 %) and arachidonic (0.1 %) acids. Oleic acid is the main FA representing more than 69% of the total oil content.
Significance: These results highlight the richness of unsaturated fatty acids in Pistacia vera nuts, underscoring its high nutritional value. We suggest that the FA composition of nuts is increased under the influence of pedological and environmental factors affecting the fruit quality. The antioxidant effects and nutritional properties of this pistachio will be further investigated.