Fatty acids, 4-desmethylsterols, and triterpene alcohols from Tunisian lentisc (Pistacia lentiscus) fruits

A comparative study was performed to determine the fatty acid, 4-desmethylsterol and triterpenic alcohols compositions of three different Tunisian populations of Pistacia lentiscus fruit Rimel (RM), Korbous (KO), and Tebaba (TB). Fruits are rich in lipids, which varied from 39.37% (KO) to 42.48% (TB) on a dry weight basis. Qualitatively, fatty acid, sterol, mono- and dimethylsterol composition is identical for all populations. Oleic acid was the major fatty acid for all samples, accounting from 40.49% in TB population to 50.72% in RM population followed by the palmitic and linoleic acids. Other fatty acids are present at lower levels. Total sterol amount varied from 109.72?mg/100?g of oil (KO) to 434.26?mg/100?g of oil (RM) with an average of 248.74?mg/100?g of oil. The major 4-desmethylsterol component in all studied Tunisian populations of P. lentiscus oil was beta-sitosterol followed by campesterol in TB and KO, and by stigmasterol in RM. The amount of total triterpenic alcohols varied from 42.39?mg/100?g of oil in RM population to 70.41?mg/100?g oil in TB population. The quantitative difference in the fatty acids and 4-desmethylsterols of the different populations studied could be due to the effect of geographic region and soil type.