Characterization of triacylglycerols in Arbutus unedo L. seeds

Arbutus unedo L. (fam: Ericaceae), a typical plant of the Mediterranean woods, produces many reddish berries with small seeds. This study was carried out to characterize the triacylglycerol (TAG) fraction of the oil extracted from the seeds of A. unedo berries by stereospecific analysis and by a procedure based on hyphenated techniques (silver ion high-performance liquid chromatography -Ag+-HPLC- and stereospecific analysis of some sub-fractions). A. unedo lipids have a notable amount of essential fatty acids (EFA) and low levels of saturated fatty acids; furthermore there is a marked asymmetry in the FA positional distribution on the TAG glycerol backbone.