Chemical composition of chestnut cultivars from Spain

Abstract

Chestnut cultivation and production in Spain has employed grafted seedlings from selected local cultivars. Previously, we have characterised the Spanish cultivars by morphological and molecular markers. We are presenting in this paper the proximate analysis and mineral content for the main Spanish cultivars. A total of 131 samples were collected from 47 cultivars in six important Spanish chestnut production regions; located in the North such as Asturias, Castilla-León (El Bierzo) and Galicia; in the Central such as Extremadura and in the South such as Andalucía; as well as the Canary Islands, the southermost part of Spain near to North Africa. High variability in chemical composition between cultivars and regions corresponded to the high genetic variability between cultivars. Correlations with environmental parameters were low, indicating that differences found between regions were probably reflecting the differences between cultivars. In Central and Southern Spain, some cultivars presented lowest moisture content due to the low summer rainfall in these regions. Differences in starch and total sugar contents were high and were negatively correlated with each other. There was no negative correlation between nut size and total sugar content. Lowest values of fibre content and ease of digestibility were found in cultivars from Galicia and Extremadura. No significant differences in Fe, Zn and Cu were found although Zn content is twice the value reported for European chestnuts. This work would be a valuable reference to chestnut quality for the food processing industry, nutritionists, breeders and growers alike. #

Study of morphological and chemical diversity in chestnut trees (var. “Judia”) as a function of temperature sum Estudio de la diversidad morfológica y química del fruto de castaña (var. “Judia”) en función de la suma de la temperatura

“…That value was 37.6% and 43.8% higher than those obtained by Borges et al (2008) and Vasconcelos et al (2007), for ''Judia''. In Valpac¸os (the coldest local) once again presented the highest protein content, although this time did not go over 57.9 g/kg DM, similar to the values obtained in many studies Pereira-Lorenzo et al, 2006).…”

“…registered the highest decrease in nut DM (24.9%) and the maximum starch increase (39.9%), which corresponds to the second highest value among all samples. Average starch content was 390.2 g/kg DM in 2006, which is close to the mean value for Galician chestnuts, as referred by Pereira-Lorenzo et al (2006). In 2007, this content increases almost twice as much (586.8 g/kg), which corroborated the values referred in other Portuguese studies for Portuguese varieties (Vasconcelos et al, 2007) and also in Spanish studies (Pereira-Lorenzo et al, 2006) about Spanish varieties (570 g/kg DM, namely in Galician varieties with 600 g/kg DM).…”

“…Starch is partially hydrolyzed into soluble sugars, giving the fruits its sweetness (Pereira-Lorenzo et al, 2006). The average of soluble sugars content for ''Judia'' was 105.8 g/kg DW, less than in Galician varieties (140 g/kg DM).…”

Non-destructive Measurement of Sugar Content in Chestnuts Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

“…However, the chestnut is a highly variable species. The nutrition components, flavor and taste are varied according the variety, origin area, cultivation and storage condition [3][4][5]. Therefore, evaluating the nutrition components accurately, especially the sugar content, plays an important role in determination of the price, the time for marketing and preservation, the processing methods and the product quality control [6][7][8].…”

“…Therefore, evaluating the nutrition components accurately, especially the sugar content, plays an important role in determination of the price, the time for marketing and preservation, the processing methods and the product quality control [6][7][8]. Recently, the sugar content in chestnuts are determined by using chemical approach, which is destructive, time-consuming, laborious and expensive [4]. Therefore, developing a rapid nondestructive means to analyze the sugar content of chestnuts, especially for intact chestnuts, is critical to the chestnut industry.…”