Physicochemical composition of tomato seed oil for an edible use: the effect of cultivar

The effect of cultivar on tomato seed oil (TSO) composition of three industrial cultivars (Principe Borghese, Rebelion F1 and San Marzano) grown in Calabria Region (Southern Italy)was investigated. Nitrogen (N) and crude protein (CP) were determined on defatted dried seeds and the CP content was found to be useful for animal feed (35.02% - 40.94%). Other analyses were: oil content on dried seeds, refractive index (RI), free acidity (FA), spectrophotometric characteristics (i.e. K232nm, K266nm, K270nm, K274nm, ΔK), oil stability index (OSI), p-anisidine value (p-AV), color, relative density (RD), fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition. The findings strongly showed significant differences among cultivars and consequently a significant influence of the cultivar factor on the physicochemical properties of the tomato seed oil for an edible use. Rebelion F1 produced the worst seed oil in terms of oil content (19.84%), FA (7.77%), OSI (2.07 h), K232nm (0.0733), K270nm (1.2570), p-AV (3.93), cis-oleic acid (17.16%). Rebelion F1 also showed the highest essential fatty acid content (EFA) (62.67%) and the lowest mono-unsaturated fatty acid content (MUFA) (17.85%).