Chemical profiling of Portuguese Pinus pinea L. nuts.

BACKGROUND The first detailed chemical characterisation of Portuguese pine nut (Pinus pinea L.) is reported concerning proximate composition, fatty acid, mineral and vitamin contents. RESULTS Based on the analysis of 27 different populations, pine nuts were characterised by high contents of fat (47.7 g per 100 g dry matter (DM)), protein (33.8 g per 100 g DM) and phosphorus (1130 mg per 100 g DM) and low contents of moisture (5.9 g per 100 g DM) and starch (3.5 g per 100 g DM). They were also found to be a good source of zinc, iron and manganese. CONCLUSION Mineral composition seemed to be most prone to variation, suggesting its potentially useful role in discriminating Mediterranean pine nuts. A significant variability was found in the nut composition of Portuguese P. pinea populations.