Lisong Liang

Summary: Hazelnut oils obtained from three varieties of Chinese hybrid hazelnuts (cv. ‘Liaozhen 3 (LZ)’, ‘Pingou 21’ (PG) and ‘Yuzhui’ (YZ)) were used to compare the lipid oxidation characteristics (peroxide value, p‐anisidine value and conjugated diene value), fatty acid profiles and major active components (squalene, carotenoids and tocopherols) under oxidation condition at 60 °C for 40 days, in addition, the molecular structure changes in the three hazelnut oils were monitored by Raman spectroscopy. The lipid oxidation of the three hazelnut oils had similar tendencies, and the oxidation rate was slower in the early stage and faster in the later stage. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) tended to decrease mainly due to the decrease in linoleic acid. LZ had higher contents of tocopherol, carotenoids and PUFAs than the other varieties, while YZ owned the highest content of squalene. Tocopherol and carotenoids of the three hazelnut oils showed easy loss, while squalene was relatively stable. Raman spectroscopy can effectively indicate the degree of oxidation and carotenoid levels of hazelnut oil. This study can provide a scientific basis for variety selection in planting and utilisation of active ingredients for the hazelnut industry.

Hazelnut (Corylus) is an important woody oil tree species in economic forests. China, as one of the original countries of native Corylus species, had 8 species and 2 varieties. However, little information is available on the hazelnut nutritional quality of these Chinese Corylus species. In this study, four main wild Corylus species (C. heterophylla Fisch., C. mandshurica Maxim., C. kweichowensis Hu., and C. yunnanensis Franch.) originating in China and one main cultivar of hybrid hazelnut (Corylus heterophylla Fisch. × C. avellana L.) cv. ‘Dawei’ from China were used to analyze the basic nutritional composition (content of oil, fatty acid, protein, saccharide, aminao acid, vitamin C, tocopherol, total phenols, and total flavonoids) and antioxidant ability. The results showed that oil content ranged from 52.97 to 60.88 g/100 g DW and highly unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) content was over 91%. Oleic was the most dominant UFA in these hazelnut kernels, and the relative content was ranging from 71.32 to 85.19%. Compared with other four hazelnut kernels, C. heterophylla Fisch. was the lowest oil content of hazelnut with lower oleic acid content and higher linoleic acid content, obviously. The total protein content ranged from 13.15 to 18.35 g/100 g DW, and all amino acids were detected as hydrate amino acids, but Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, was not detected as free amino acid in these hazelnut kernels. Kernel of C. heterophylla Fisch. was with the highest content of protein and amino acid. Saccharose was the most essential and abundant disaccharide in the hazelnut kernels. C. mandshurica Maxim. was the highest saccharide content among these hazelnut kernels. α-tocopherol was the main type of tocopherol found in the hazelnut kernels. Wild hazelnut kernels generally had higher bioactivity substance content (vitamin C, total tocopherol, total phenol and total flavonoid) and antioxidant capacity. Compared to the four wild hazelnut kernels, the hybrid hazelnut cv. ‘Dawei’ had higher content of oil, oleic acid, α-tocopherol and sugar. Overall, there were great differences in the nutritional composition of different hazelnut species. Wild species are a good source of breeding materials because of their own characteristics in nutrition composition, and the hybrid hazelnut cv. ‘Dawei’ with good quality has the value of commercial promotion.