Fractions of vitamin E (tocotrienols and tocopherols) in nut oil of Gevuina avellana Mol.

The nut oil of Gevuina avellana Mol. (Gevuin; Chilean hazelnut), a tree native to Chile, has interesting properties for nutritional and phytotherapy purposes. Vitamin E plays an important role in the antioxidant complex of Gevuina nut oil together with other components of the lipid matrix like cis monounsaturated fatty acids and phytoesterols. The objective of this study was to evaluate the content of different fractions of vitamin E (tocotrienols and tocopherols) in the nut oil of Gevuina clones. From 2006 to 2007, nuts of seven clones were analyzed to determine the tocol composition (Soxhlet, HPLC and GC/MS methods) to determinate tocopherols and tocotrienols. The results demonstrated an important range of variation of tocols among clones, with less average content in total tocopherols (1.42 µg/g). A significant level of α-tocotrienol was determined which ranged from 63.41 to 163.74 µg/g among clones. Other fractions were β, γ and δ tocotrienols with 1.08, 9.47 and 0.12 µg/g, respectively. This data is important in relation to the selection of genotypes with a superior antioxidant complex quality.