Twenty-four avocado varieties from the germplasm collection of the Fruit Center of the Agronomic Institute of Campinas, were evaluated as a possible raw material for oil extraction. The varieties were analyzed concerning the proportions of fruit components (pulp, peel and seed) and the amounts of moisture and fatty substances found in the fresh pulp. The fatty acid profile of the oils extracted from the pulp was determined in most of the varieties, and in some varieties also the fruit seeds chemical composition. The Anaheim, Carlsbad, Collinson, Fuerte, Glória, Hass, Itzamna, Mayapan, Ouro Verde and Wagner fruit varieties presented an oil content in the pulp higher than 18% on a fresh weight basis, which were considered the most suitable for oil extraction. The harvest of these varieties started in May and finished in November. There were highly significant negative linear correlations between the proportions of the fruits pulp and the seeds, the pulp and the peel, between the pulps fatty substances and moisture contents and between the seeds moisture and starch content. The composition of the pulp oil fatty acids and the seeds chemical composition presented great variation among the varieties.
Persea americana; harvest season; fruit components; oil content; fatty acids; seeds chemical composition
