Variation in oil quality and content of low molecular lipophilic compounds in chia seed oils

Abstract

This study was conducted to characterize the lipid fraction of 15 chia seed samples originating from five countries (Argentina, Paraguay, Uganda, Bolivia, and Peru). On average, chia seeds contained 34.5 g oil per 100 g dry-solids, in which the average contents of sterols, tocopherols, squalene, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds were 7,061, 600, 17.7, 2.2, and 9.7 mg/kg of oil, respectively. Alpha-linolenic acid share varied from 54.35% to 60.48%, and was accompanied by declining shares of linoleic, palmitic, oleic, and stearic acid, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that chia oil induction time was positively correlated with tocopherols and phenols, while negatively with quality indices and squalene content.