The influence of storage time on fatty acid, tocopherol and seed quality of peanut

Abstract

The seed size and storage time of peanuts is important, not only for marketing, but for storage and the production of by-products like peanut butter, as well as its use as a source of cooking oil used in confectionary products for human consumption. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of storage time and seed size grade on the quality of peanut seed in 2008 and 2009. Storage time had a negative effect on seed quality parameters such as oil content and its lipid components like fatty acids, α-tocopherol and δ-tocopherol. Each different seed size also had a significant impact on all fatty acids, oil content, and the proteins of the seed in both years with the exception of palmitoleic acid and arachidic acid. The results of this study indicated that there was a negative relationship between oleic acid and linoleic acid. Oil stability in grade-2 and grade-3 seed size was significantly decreased with extended storage time. Generally, both the α-tocopherol and δ-tocopherol values of each grade seed size decreased with extended storage time. The most suitable harvest time should be determined by taking the highest yield of peanut with grade-1 seed size, due to the fact that there are major differences in fatty acid components, oil content and the tocopherol level of different peanut seed size on plants. It was suggested that after harvest, peanut seeds should be sold and roasted without being stored.