Characterization of physico-chemical and bioactive properties of oils of some important almond cultivars by cold press and soxhlet extraction

The oleic acid composition of almonds oils expressed by cold press varied from 73.56% in Cristomorto cultivar to 76.59% in Tuono while oleic acid in oils extracted by soxhlet method ranged from 71.86% in Cristomorto and 75.63% in Tuono cultivars. Also, oil from cold press extraction contained 19.51% and 21.86% linoleic acid for Ferragnes and Tuono almond cultivars, respectively, while 18.74 and 20.51% linoleic acid was recorded in Soxhlet extracted oil from Ferragnes and Tuono almonds, respectively. In addition, alpha-tocopherol contents of the oil samples varied significantly (p<0.05) from 14.18 to 16.86 mg/100 g in Tuono and 15.71-17.96 mg/100 g in Ferragnes for cold-press and soxhlet extracted oils, respectively. beta-Sitosterol composition of the oil obtained by cold press ranged from 157.94 (Tuono) and 171.68 mg/100 g (Cristomorto) while beta-sitosterol content varied from 148.91 (Tuono) and 159.68 mg/100 g (Cristomorto) for oil extracted by Soxhlet method.