Chemical composition of Camellia chekiangoleosa Hu. seeds during ripening and evaluations of seed oils quality

Camellia chekiangoleosa Hu. (C. chekiangoleosa) is an oil-bearing tree species with high oleic acid content and properties such as rapid oil formation. A report related to the evolution of its seed chemical composition during ripening is limited. This study investigates changes in the chemical composition of C. chekiangoleosa seeds during maturation. For this purpose, eight clones of C. chekiangoleosa fruit samples were harvested at different ripening degrees. Finally, an improved Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was used to assess the quality of mature oils based on key analytical parameters including oil yield, fatty acids composition and lipid concomitant. The difference in the analytical parameters of the eight sample’s oils gradually decreased as ripening progressed. Moreover, during the seed development of C. chekiangoleosa, higher protein and starch content was observed at the early stages. In addition, as ripening advances, the soluble sugar content fluctuated during maturation, while the oil content increased significantly. During ripening, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) increased, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased. As ripening advances, the amounts of α-tocopherol, squalene, and β-sitosterol decreased to a stable range. The PCA results further proved that the composition of C. chekiangoleosa seed oils remained almost constant after 25 August. Therefore, an improved TOPSIS based on Mahalanobis distance was used to evaluate the quality of C. chekiangoleosa seed oils collected at three time-points after maturity. Moreover, LK006 and LK32 were evaluated as better than other clones and more suitable for breeding and processing.