Oil chemical traits of kernels of different almond cultivars from China

Traditional cultivars account for a large part of worldwide almond cultivars. However, the oil chemical traits of traditional almond cultivars in China remain unclear. Here, the oil chemical traits of four native and two traditional almond cultivars grown in China were determined. The content of unsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids ranged from 93.02% to 93.29% and 75.24% to 77.98%, respectively. The tocopherol content varied between 25.15 and 18.37 mg/100 g. beta-sitosterol content varied between 93.06% and 94.40%. VB1, VB2, VB3, and VB6 contents ranged from 0.11 to 0.23, 0.26 to 0.73, 370.00 to 1272.00, and 0.05 to 0.07 mg/100 g, respectively. The levels of squalene and phospholipids ranged from 131.20 to 274.80 mg/kg and 1.18 to 1.47 mg/g, respectively. These results indicated that the composition and content of fatty acids, tocopherols, sterols, VB1, VB2, VB3, VB6, squalene, and phospholipids in almond kernels were significantly different among the investigated cultivars.