Effect of clones, year of harvest and geographical origin of fruits on quality and chemical composition of Argan oil.

Abstract

Argan oil is precious oil with food and cosmetic uses. In recent years, this oil has been subject to an increasing national and international demand. The present work aims at studying the effect of clones and age, year of harvest and geographical origin on Argan oil quality and chemical composition. The results indicate that age does not affect Argan oil quality and fatty acids content. However, clones had a significant effect on fatty acids and tocopherol levels. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were highly influenced by the year of harvest and geographical origin, presumably due to climatic conditions. Unsaturated fatty acids varied from 78.28% to 81.77%. Depending on clones, total tocopherols varied from 687.40 mg/kg to 1068 mg/kg. This study is useful for the choice of clones with the aim of developing Argan trees orchards destined to oil production.