3.4. Determination of Phytosterols Composition
The sterol contents of pine nut oils are given in Table 3 and their chromatogram is given in Figure 2.
The level of total sterol in this research was found to be 978 mg/kg. The most abundant sterol was β-Sitosterol (76.15%) followed by campesterol (15.60%), sitostanol (6.46%), Δ5-D24-stigmastadionol (1.43%) and ergosterol (0.36%). The predominance of β-Sitosterol and campesterol is typical for most vegetable oils [21]. When previous studies with pine nuts were examined, it was determined that β-sitosterol and campesterol were the most abundant sterols in almost all of them [28–32]. In a study conducted by Tukan et al., 2013, fatty acid, sterols and amino acid contents of the kernels of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) cultivated in Jordan were analyzed and Δ5-D24 stigmastadionol content was found to be 1.43% which is exactly the same result as our study [31].
The results of our study are very close to many studies in the literature. As with many other seed or kernel oils, pine nut oil has been found to be a very good quality oil in terms of nutritional value and oxidation stability.