Physical, Nutritional and Functional Properties of Walnuts Genotypes (<i>Juglans regia</i> L.) from Romania
Olimpia A. Iordănescu,
Isidora Radulov,
Ioana P. Buhan,
Ileana Cocan,
Adina A. Berbecea,
Iuliana Popescu,
Daniela S. Poșta,
Dorin Camen,
Dacian Lalescu
Affiliations
Olimpia A. Iordănescu
Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Isidora Radulov
Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Ioana P. Buhan
Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Ileana Cocan
Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Adina A. Berbecea
Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Iuliana Popescu
Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Daniela S. Poșta
Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Dorin Camen
Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Dacian Lalescu
Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is the oldest fruit grown in the world and grows spontaneously almost throughout Romania. In this study, the physical properties and chemical composition of twenty types of walnuts from three different locations in Romania were studied. The physical analyzes that were performed were: walnut dimensions and shape properties (nut diameter, nut length, nut shape and nut size), fruit properties (walnut weight, walnut kernel weight and percentage of kernel) and external properties of walnut (walnut kernel extraction, kernel color and shell roughness). The proximate chemical composition (content of water, ash, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) was determined by standardized AOAC methods, while fatty compounds were determined by GSMS. Water content ranged from 1.23% to 5.00%, mineral content between 1.31% and 2.49%, lipids content between 56.09% and 66.56% and protein content ranged between 12.73% and 20.413%. Based on these, the carbohydrate content and nutritional value of the 20 walnut samples were calculated. In all samples, saturated palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) as well as unsaturated oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) fatty acids were determined. A statistical analysis was also performed correlating the results obtained from the chemical analyzes of the walnuts.