Fatty acid composition and antioxidant capacity of defatted, non-defatted and oils extracts of Quercus ilex fruit from Algeria

The nutritional value and health-promoting properties cause the fruits (acorns) of to have great potential for use in the food industry as functional ingredients and antioxidants source. In this study, the amount of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids in different extracts (defatted, non-defatted) and composition of fatty acids in the fruits oils of were investigated. Besides, antioxidant activity was determined. Fatty acids were extracted with n-hexane and determined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS). Total phenolic and flavonoids contents in the extracts were measured spectrophotometrically and the antioxidant activities were tested by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), free radical scavenging assay, free radical-scavenging ABTS and total antioxidant capacity. The amount of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds in the defatted were 634.36±27.41 mg GAE/g DW and 96.85±2.13 mg RE/g DW, respectively. Unsaturated fatty acids were detected in higher amounts than saturated fatty acids. The primary unsaturated fatty acids of the oil were oleic acid (65.38%), 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (16.64%) and palmitic acid (12.81%). Besides, defatted extract showed remarkable DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity with IC values of 0.008±0.0008, 0.005±0.001 mg/ml respectively, while high total antioxidant capacity of the non-defatted extract with VCEAC value 0.13±0.006. oil contained high amounts of polyphenols, high essential fatty acids and antioxidant potential for producing specific health promoting antioxidants in food and pharmaceutical industry.