Chemical characterization of commercial and single-variety avocado oils

This work aimed to determine the major and minor compounds of avocado oils. Mono-varietal oils from the Bacon, Fuerte, Hass, and Pinkerton cultivars were obtained by means of an Abencor® system, while commercial oils from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and New Zealand were purchased locally. The content of triacylglycerols, fatty acids, aliphatic and terpenic alcohols, desmethyl- methyl- and dimethyl-sterols, squalene and tocopherols were determined. The main triacylglycerols were those with ECN48. In addition, the oleic, palmitic and linoleic acids prevailed. Desmethyl-sterols were the principal minor compounds. Low amounts of aliphatic and terpenic alcohols were also found. Squalene concentrations were higher in Bacon, Fuerte and Pinkerton oils than in the other oils. The most abundant tocopherol was ¿-tocopherol. Partial least squares discriminant analysis made it possible to express the differences among the samples. To summarize, this work brings a different approach to the complete characterization of avocado oil.We thank the Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea La Mayora (IHSM-CSIC, Málaga-Spain) for providing the avocado samples, the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Brazil) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for the scholarship and financial assistance.Peer Reviewe