Fatty Acid Patterns of the Various Parts of Turkish Pistacia vera L. Tree

Pistacia vera L. (Anacardiaceae) is a small tree grown in southern Europe and Asia minor, being the only species within the 11 species belonging to the genus Pistacia that produces edible nuts. Pistachio is a nut of the tree having an edible green kernel enclosed in a woody shell. P. vera is widely cultivated in southern Anatolia for its nuts and has a significant contribution to the major agricultural exports of Turkey. Extensive researches have exerted that pistachio nuts are a rich source of fatty acids [1–6].

A survey for fatty acid composition was made for the waste products of P. vera (pistachio tree) grown in Turkey. The waste products and various parts of the tree were classified as fresh leaves (FL), dried leaves (DL), stem (ST), branches (BR), fresh skin of natural-woody shell (non-processed) (FSN), fresh kernel (FK), and skin of processed-woody shell (SP). In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data revealed that FSN, FL, DL, and, ST could be evaluated to be rich sources for fatty acids. In particular, FL contains a remarkable amount of linolenic acid (30.4±3.28%).

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