Glycerolipid and fatty acid distribution in pericarp, seed and whole fruit oils of Myrtus communis var. italica

Seed, pericarp and whole berry of Myrtus communis var. italica were compared in terms of oils, glycerolipid classes and fatty acids. The fruit is composed of pericarp and approximately 9 seeds which constituted 63.5 and 36.5% of the whole ripe fruit, respectively. The latter presented a weight of 8.8 g% fruits while seed had only 0.5 g% seeds. The moisture contents were 80.1% in pericarp, 72% in whole fruit and 39.7% in seed. The oil yield of seed (11.7%) was significantly higher than that of whole fruit (5.9%) and pericarp (2.1%). Total lipid amounts were 61.26 mg/g in seed, 28.97 mg/g in whole fruit and 4.14 mg/g in pericarp. The amounts of polar glycerolipids were lower than those of neutral glycerolipids in all samples. Triacylglycerol constituted the main neutral glycerolipid with 57.47 mg/g in seed, 25.68 mg/g in whole fruit and 1.67 mg/g in pericarp. The predominant fatty acids of total lipids and different glycerolipid classes were linoleic, palmitic, oleic and α-linolenic acids in all samples but with different proportions. Whole fruit, seed and pericarp provided low yields of oil but they were a rich source of essential fatty acids which will be important as an indication of the potentially nutraceutical and industrial utility of myrtle fruit.