Variability of important fatty acids and vitamin E in Almond (Prunus dulcis) genotypes of Kashmir estimated by validated GC-FID and HPLC

• Almond genotypes in Kashmir are very rich in vitamin E. • Oleic acid is the predominant fatty acid in almond. • In almond, GC and HPLC can be used for quantification of important constituents. • Oleic acid and linoleic acid are negatively correlated in almond. Almond ( Prunus dulcis ) is highly relished nut crop throughout the world. Fatty acids, vitamins and minerals are the important constituents of almond kernels; out of which oleic and linoleic acids are the major components of fatty acids and alpha tocopherol is the most predominant vitamin. Herein we have described the quantification and method validation of fatty acids and vitamin E in different genotypes (n=74) by Gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The genotypes were locally grown by the farmers and only the pomologically best performing genotypes were used for fatty acid and vitamin E content. Method validation was performed as per International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines as ICH guidelines sets a high standard for reliability and reproducibility, which may enhance the credibility of the findings compared to other studies that may not provide such detailed validation. All the validated parameters are well demonstrated in the method validation procedure and the corresponding values were found within acceptable range. The average vitamin E content for all genotypes was 21.38% ranging from 15.88 to 25.48%. Out of the 37 fatty acids, 23 were detected in almond samples. Of these, 12 were unsaturated, comprising 86.83% of total fatty acids, while 11 were saturated, averaging 13.10%. Unsaturated and saturated fatty acids ranged from 82.02–90.14% and 8.88–17.41%, respectively. The oleic acid [C18:1 (Cis) 65.54%] was the major acid followed by linoleic acid [(C18:2 Cis) 18.31%], palmitic acid [(C16:0) 8.25%], stearic acid [(C18:0) 3.27%], palmitoleic acid [(C16:1) 1.78%] and heptadecanoic acid [(C17:0) 0.62%] in virgin oils of all almond samples. Among the selected genotypes; the oleic acid (C18:1 Cis) content ranged from 57.46 to 72.05% whereas, linoleic acid (C18:2 Cis) content ranged from 10.97 to 25.15%.