1. FATTY ACIDS COMPOSITION OF OILS EXTRACTED FROM PLANT SEEDS
AND PSEUDOCEREALS
Milica Pavlović 1*
, Milica Nemoda 1
, Ivana Đuričić 1
, Jasmina Timć1
, Slađana Šobajić 1
1
School of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia
* Presenting and corresponding author:
micicirque@gmail.com
Aim
Modern diet is often characterized with an increased intake of total fats, saturated and trans
fatty acids and inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids. For these reasons selection of foods
with good nutritional composition and biological value is of significant importance in dietary
planning. Examples of highly appreciated foods in healthy diets are different kind of seeds.
The purpose of this research was to determine total fat content and fatty acid profile in various
seeds, including: chia, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed, white sesame, black sesame and
pseudocereals: black quinoa, quinoa, canihua (qañiwa), and amaranth.
Methods
Total fats were analyzed according to Soxhlet method with chloroform as organic solvent.
Fatty acid methyl esters were analysed using gas chromatography with FID. The conversion
into fatty acid methyl-esters was achieved with 3M HCl in methanol.
Results
Pseudocereals represented low source of total fats (6.5%), while in seeds total fat content
varied from 29.8% in chia to 52.4% in sunflower seeds. The ratio between α-linolenic/linoleic
acid was 3.3 in chia, 3.8 in flaxseed and 3.8 in amaranth. Amounts of α-linolenic acid ranged
from 0.4% in pumpkin seed to 61.5% in chia, linoleic acid ranged from 14.7% in flaxseed to
50.7% in sunflower, and oleic acid ranged from 7.4% in flaxseed to 16.2% in canihua. α-
linolenic was not found in sesame and sunflower seeds.
Conclusions
Chia and flaxseed were rich sources of α-linolenic acid, while pseudocereals such as: black
quinoa, quinoa, canihua (qañiwa), amaranth were low in total lipids. Amaranth had the
highest level of PUFA, especially α-linolenic acid, but is a poor source of this essential fatty
acid because of its low total lipid content. The highest amount of C18:1 was found in sesame
with ω-9 position isomer being predominant. The most abundant saturated fatty acids were
palmitic and stearic.
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Keywords:, seeds oil, fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids