A Study on the Lipidic Fraction Extracted from High Oleic Sunflower Seeds (Helianthus annuus L.) during the Ripening Process

The paper discusses the chemical composition of the lipidic fraction extracted from a high oleic sunflower cultivar during ripening. The oil content, the fatty acids, and the composition of unsaponifiable matter were studied. During the ripening there is an increase in the oleic and a decrease in the palmitic, linoleic, and linolenic acid contents. At the beginning of ripening, the presence of some unknown acidic compounds (of which the mass spectra are reported) was observed which were not present at harvest. Practically all the components of the unsaponifiable matter decreased during ripening. In particular, it can be observed that in the sterols fraction the ratio between D5-avenasterol and D7-stigmastenol is reversed during the ripening. During the ripening there is also a marked decrease in the aliphatic alcohols fraction, whereas a rise in the triterpenic alcohols can be observed.