Fatty Acids Profile of Wild and Cultivar Tunisian Peanut Oilseeds (<i>A. hypogaea</i> L.) at Different Developmental Stages

Abstract

Eleven fatty acids were identified during maturity in the wild (AraA) and varieties peanut kernels (AraC and AraT). These fatty acids included C_16:0 (palmitic acid), C_18:0 (stearic acid), C_18:1 (oleic acid), C_18:2 (linoleic acid), C_19:0 (nonadecanoic acid), C_20:1 (gadoleic acid), C_20:0 (arachidic acid), C_22:1 (erucic acid), C_22:0 (behenic acid), C_23:0 (tricosanoic acid) and C_24:0 (linoceric acid). Two fatty acids C_19:0 and C_23:0 were not previously detected from peanut kernels. Furthermore, eight major fatty acids (C_16:0, C_18:0, C_18:1, C_18:2, C_20:0, C_20:1, C_22:0 and C_24:0) were quantified during maturity. Wild AraA was distinguished by its highest level of oleic (38.72%) and stearic (2.63%) acids contents and the lowest one of linoleic acid (19.40%) compared to the varieties. As for the O/L ratio, wild AraA presents a significantly higher (p < 0.05) (O/L = 2) than that of the AraC and AraT varieties with (O/L = 1.7 and 1.04) respectively. Correlation coefficients (r) between the eight major fatty acids revealed an inverse association between oleic and linoleic acids (r = -0.99, p < 0.001), while linoleic acid was positively correlated to palmitic acid (r = 0.97). These results aim to provide a detailed basis for quality improvement in the cultivated peanut with wild resources.