Original Research Article Natural conjugated and trans fatty acids in seed oils and phytochemicals in seed extracts issued from three Tunisian pomegranate (Punica granatum. L) cultivars

Fatty acid profiles of pomegranate seed oils (PSOs), phytochemicals and antioxidant activities of pomegranate seed extracts (PSE) and pomegranate seed residue extracts (PSRE) of three Tunisian (Punica granatum. L) cultivars were investigated. PSOs lipid characterization showed 32 fatty acids (FA). trans MUFAs represent more than 50% of total MUFAs and exceptionally characterised by the presence of elaidic acid C18:1 n9 (trans) that significantly differed among the studied cultivars (p<0.05). However, PUFAs that seemed most important (83.77%) were mainly characterised by the presence of conjugated fatty acids (CFAs) including conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) and conjugated linolenic acids (CLnAs), essentially, punicic acid that was the major fatty acid in PSOs ranging from 35.27 to 38.64%. The highest total phenolic content (TPC) was determined as 1.17 mg GAE /g DW of PSE in Tounsi cultivar. Acceptable antioxidant activity of PSE and PSRE were found in Tounsi cultivar with 38.57 and 21.51 % respectively.