Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4, 1–8, Ljubljana 2022
doi:10.14720/aas.2022.118.4.2554 Original research article / izvirni znanstveni članek
Quality index based on fatty acids for Syrian pistachio cultivars (Pistacia 
vera L.) grown in Mascara (North-West of Algeria)
Sid Ahmed BOUALEM 1, 2, Harun KARCI 3, Salih KAFKAS 3, Abdelkader ELOUISSI 1, Gözde NOGAY 3
Received February 12, 2022; accepted November 16, 2022.
Delo je prispelo 12. februarja 2022, sprejeto 16. novembra 2022
1 University Mustapha Stambouli, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Agronomy Department, Mascara, Algeria
2 Corresponding author, e-mail: a.mohamed.boualem@gmail.com
3 University of Cukurova, Faculty of Agriculture, Horticulture Department, Adana, Turkey
Quality index based on fatty acids for Syrian pistachio culti-
vars (Pistacia vera L.) grown in Mascara (North-West of Al-
geria)
Abstract: Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is one of the most 
important hard-shelled nuts all over the world. Pistachio has a 
very high nutritional value with its quality index based on fatty 
acids composition, protein, mineral, vitamin-E, and antioxi-
dant contents. In the current study, fatty acids values of the Syr-
ian pistachio varieties cultivated in Algeria (‘Adjmi’, ‘Bayadhi’, 
‘Batouri’, ‘Achouri,’ and ‘Neb-djemel’) were detected for the first 
time. Oil extraction of cultivars was performed using n-hexane 
in a Soxhlet apparatus, and the fatty acids composition of the 
oil was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with a flame 
ionization detector (GC/FID) in the methyl ester form. The 
fatty acid composition of the pistachio cultivars was detected 
as: palmitic acid (8.23 % ± 0.36 to 9.49 % ± 0.07), palmitoleic 
acid (0.10 % ± 0.02 to 0.62 % ± 0.24), stearic acid (0.67 % ± 
0.04 to 1.40 % ± 0.18), oleic acid (56.35 % ± 2.13 to 61.90 % ± 
1.07), linoleic acid (19.48 % ± 0.27 to 26.76 ± 0.55) and lino-
lenic acid (0.390  % ± 0, 03 to 0.59  % ± 0.01) in all samples. 
The results demonstrated that the five pistachio cultivars were 
rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (56.9 7% ± 1.88 
to 62.10 % ± 1.02) and moderately low in saturated fatty acids 
(SFA) (9.90 % ± 0.04 to 10.37 % ± 0.23). ‘Adjmi’ has fatty acid 
composition lower than the other cultivars statically. Oleic acid 
value was determined higher than other fatty acid components. 
In the current study, the fat and fatty acid components of pista-
chio cultivars were determined and the results of this study can 
be used for future pistachio breeding programs.
Key words: kernels; pistachio; fatty acids composition
Na osnovi maščobnih kislin postavljen kakovostni indeks sir-
skih sort pistacije (Pistacia vera L.), ki se gojijo na območju 
Mascare (Severozahodna Alžirija)
Izvleček: Pistacija (Pistacia vera L.) je ena izmed najpo-
membnejših vrst oreškov, ki se goji širom po svetu. Ima zelo 
veliko hranilno vrednost, katere kakovostni indeks temelji na 
sestavi maščobnih kislin, beljakovin, mineralov, vitamina E in 
vsebnosti antioksidantov. V raziskavi je bila prvič preučena se-
stava maščobnih kislin v sortah sirske pistacije, ki se gojijo v 
Alžiri (‘Adjmi’, ‘Bayadhi’, ‘Batouri’, ‘Achouri,’ and ‘Neb-djemel’). 
Ekstrakcija olja je bila narejena z n-heksanom v Soxhletovem 
aparatu, sestava maščobnih kislin v olju je bila analizirana s 
plinsko kromatografijo povezano s plamenskim ionizirajočim 
detektorjem (GC/FID) in metil estrom. V vseh vzorcih je bila 
ugotovljena naslednja sestava maščobnih kislin v olju pistacije: 
palmitinska kislina (8,23 % ± 0,36 do 9,49 % ± 0,07), palmitin-
sko-oleinska kislina (0,10 % ± 0,02 do 0,62 % ± 0,24), stearin-
ska kislina (0,67 % ± 0,04 do 1,40 % ± 0,18), oleinska kislina 
(56,35 % ± 2,13 do 61,90 % ± 1,07), linoleijska kislina (19,48 % 
± 0,27 do 26,76 ± 0,55) in linolenska kislina (0,390 % ± 0,03 do 
0,59 % ± 0,01). Rezultati so pokazali, da je bilo olje vseh petih 
sort pistacije bogato na enkrat nenasičenih maščobnih kislinah 
(MUFA) (56,97  % ± 1,88 do 62,10  % ± 1,02) in sorazmerno 
revno na nasičenih maščobnih kislinah (SFA) (9,90 % ± 0,04 do 
10,37 % ± 0,23). Sorta Adjmi je imela statistično slabšo sestavo 
maščobnih kislin, z večjo vsebnostjo oleinske kisline. Ugoto-
vljeno je bilo, sa so oreški teh sort pistacije bogati na olju in ma-
ščobnih kislinah in da bi te sorte lahko uporabili v prihodnjih 
žlahtniteljskih programih.
Ključne besede: jedrca; pistacija; sestava maščobnih ki-
slin
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 20222
S. A. BOUALEM et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Pistacia genus has a dioecious flower habitat except 
for a few monoecious ones belonging to the order Sap-
indales, the family Anacardiaceae (Oukabli, 2005). It is 
included in more than 11 Pistacia species ranging from 
bush to tree form (Kafkas, 2006). Pistacia vera L. (pista-
chio) is the only Pistacia species in which nuts are edible 
and nutritional values are quite high since they are rich 
in fat and fatty acids ranging from 47.65 % to 63.31 % of 
the dry mass of the nuts (Agar et al., 1998., Yıldız et al., 
1998; Küçüköner et al., 1998; Küçüköner and Yurt, 2001; 
Satil et al., 2003). 
Several findings in the literature were reported re-
garding the biochemical composition of pistachio cul-
tivars. Pistachio seeds contains 55.2-60.5  % oil, 15.0-
21.2 % protein, and 14.9- 17.7 % carbohydrate and has a 
structure of fiber (10.3 g 100 g-1), and 100 g of pistachio 
has 600 calories and it is one of the richest sources of 
energy (Krentz et al., 1994; Franz et al., 2002; Shahraki 
et al., 2014). The 100 g of pistachio nuts includes vari-
ous micronutrients such as 4.0 mg sodium, 494-514.5 
mg phosphorus, 120-150 mg calcium, 1,048-1,142 mg 
potassium, 494-514.5 mg phosphorus, 1.0-1.4 mg cop-
per, 5.8-11.4 mg iron, 9.3 mcg selenium and 157.5-165.0 
mg 100  g-1 magnesium (Franz et al., 2002; Shahraki et 
al., 2014). Pistachios are a serious nutritional source in 
terms of lutein and zeaxanthin (1,205 g 100 g-1), vitamin 
B-6 (1.3 mg/100 g-1), tocopherols (22.5 mg/100 g-1), and 
carotenes (157g/100 g-1), total phytosterols (279 mg /100 
g-1), sitosterol (210 mg/100 g-1) (Kornsteiner et al., 2006; 
Bhagwat et al., 2008), and isoflavones (3.63 mg/100 mg) 
(Seeram et al., 2006; Gentile et al., 2007; Ballistreri et al., 
2009).
The biggest producer countries all over the world 
were the US, Turkey, Iran, China, and Syria, respectively. 
Pistachio production in the world in 2020 was calculated 
as 1,205,532 Metric Tons (MTs). The highest production 
took place by the USA with 474,004 productions. Follow-
ing, pistachio production was reported as 296,376 MT in 
Turkey, 190,000 MT in Iran, 80,000 MT in China, and 
69,403 MT in Syria (Faostat 2022).
There are many cultivars that adapt well to the culti-
vated regions in pistachio (Karcı et al., 2022). There are a 
lot of pistachio cultivars in Iran, Turkey, and the US. Also, 
Syria is one of the oldest pistachio-growing countries and 
several cultivars grown in Syria were used commercially 
such as, ‘Ajamy’, ‘Red Jalab’, ‘Adjmi’, ‘Bayadhi’, ‘Batouri’, 
‘Neb-djemel’, ‘Bundouky’, ‘Marawhy’, ‘Lazwardy’, ‘White 
Oleimy’, ‘Nab Al-Djamal’, ‘White Jalab’, ‘Antaby’, and ‘Ein 
El-Tainah’ (Kafkas, 2019). The oil composition of pista-
chio cultivars depends on environmental factors such 
as climate, geography, and soil type as well as cultivars 
(Chahed et al., 2007). There are serious differences in the 
biochemical traits of cultivars due to the climate condi-
tions of the regions, because cultural application, root-
stock, maturity at harvest, and moisture content also af-
fect fat and fatty acid compositions.
Pistachio is a rich source of fixed oil and contains 
fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acid, which are nec-
essary for human nutrition (Garcia et al., 1992; Küçükon-
er and Yurt, 2003). The previous findings reported about 
positive effects on cardiovascular health, with significant 
reductions in total cholesterol (TC) and a dose-response 
improvement in TC/HDL, LDL/HDL, and non-HDL/
HDL ratios (Sari et al., 2010; Koçyiğit et al., 2006; Gebau-
er et al., 2008). On the other hand, a pistachio-enriched 
diet is stated that to be an alternative drug agent and an 
effective hypoglycemic agent to protect against the pre-
diabetic condition (Hernández-Alonso et al. 2014). 
Several papers reported related to the detection of 
fat and fatty acids of pistachio cultivars exception of Syr-
ian pistachio cultivars (Satil et al., 2003; Abdoshahi et al., 
2011; Rabadan et al., 2018; Esteki et al., 2018; Pourian 
et al., 2019; Yahyavi et al., 2020). However, fat contents 
of Syrian pistachio cultivars have not been reported, to 
date. Thus, the results will be useful to provide a basis 
for the selection of parents and population construction, 
detection of the biochemical traits of all cultivars in the 
development of novel promising genotypes in terms of 
biochemical properties in future pistachio breeding. 
Here, the objectives of this study were to identify the 
composition of the fat and fatty acids of Syrian pistachio 
cultivars. The fat and fatty acids results in Syrian cultivars 
can be used for future pistachio breeding programs. 
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 STUDY AREA
The study area is located at an altitude of 490  m 
above sea level with geographical landmarks (Latitude: 
35°.22’N, Longitude: 00.11’ 07’’E). The climate condi-
tions have a semi-arid Mediterranean climate which has 
a cool winter and hot summer. The annual rainfall was 
380 mm irregularly distributed over the growing season. 
The soil of the plantation is sandy loam in texture with an 
alkaline pH (Figure 1).
2.2 PLANT MATERIAL
Pistachio samples (‘Adjmi’, ‘Bayadhi’, ‘Batouri’, 
‘Achouri’ and ‘Neb-djemel’) were collected from experi-
mental orchard of the Mascara University (Algeria) at 
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 2022 3
Quality index based on fatty acids for Syrian pistachio cultivars (Pistacia vera L.) grown in Mascara (North-West of Algeria)
harvest time.  Pistachios’ fruit exocarp tissues were re-
moved and fruits were dried at room temperature condi-
tion. The samples were kept in a shell for one month at 
room temperature in the dark until analysis.
2.3 OIL EXTRACTION
Seed oil extraction was performed based on the 
Bligh and Dyer method (1959). Oils of 5 g nuts were 
extracted using hexane solvent for 2 h using automatic 
Soxhlet equipment (Gerhardt Soxtherm) and triplicate 
analysis was reported for each cultivar. The residue was 
dried until a constant mass was observed. Boron trif-
luoride/methanol was used for the preparation of fatty 
acid methyl esters (FAMEs) (AOAC, 1990).
2.4 FATTY ACIDS ANALYSIS
Fatty acids were analyzed using a Clarus 500 Gas 
Chromatography with an autosampler (Perkin Elmer, 
Shelton, CT, USA) equipped with a flame ionization de-
tector and a fused-silica capillary SGE column (100 m 
× 0.32 mm, ID 0.25 μm, BP20 0.25 UM; Perkin Elmer, 
Austin, TX, USA). The oven temperature was held at 140 
°C for 5 min, and then raised to 200 °C at a rate of 4 °C 
min–1 and then to 220 °C at a rate of 1 °C min–1, while 
the injector and the detector temperatures were set to 220 
and 280 °C respectively. The sample volume was 1 μl, and 
the carrier gas was controlled at 16 psi. The split ratio 
was 1: 100. Fatty acids were detected by comparing their 
retention indices of the FAMEs with a standard 37- com-
ponent FAME mixture (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA).
2.5 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
The Shapiro-Wilk test, using the shapiro.test func-
tion (R Core Team, 2020), showed satisfied data normal-
ity (p = 0.14). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) calcula-
tions was done using the l m function in R (R core Team, 
2020). Tukey’s post hoc Honesty Significance Difference 
(HSDT) test was applied to detect the source of the dif-
ferences, with the help of the agricolae R package (Men-
diburu, 2020).
2.6 PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS (PCA)
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is an ex-
tremely powerful tool for synthesizing information, very 
useful when there is a large amount of quantitative data 
to process and interpret. Experimental data can be iden-
tified by PCA, which plays an important role in reducing 
the dimensionality of a large number of interdependent 
variables into a new set of uncorrelated variables called 
principal components (PC). PCA is applied to series to 
construct several groups according to similar variance 
properties at different time scales. The first PC represents 
the highest variance in the original variable, followed by 
the second, third, and other components. This method 
provides useful information using a smaller set of vari-
ables and is relatively easy to interpret. The objectives of a 
PCA are as follows (Westra et al., 2007); (i) the individu-
als’ graphic representation, in a 2-dimensional plane, 
showing the similarities between them, (ii) the variables’ 
graphic representation, on the same level by explaining 
at best the initial connections between them. Principal 
component analysis (PCA) was applied to data using the 
FactoMineR R package (Le et al., 2008).
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 OIL CONTENT
The detected oil content values of Syrian cultivars 
in this study were ranging from 50.23  % to 65.42  %, 
while the oil content of Iranian varieties such as ‘Badami’, 
‘Ohadi’, and ‘Mumtaz’ varies from 58.96  % to 60.10  % 
Figure 1: (a) Geographical location of pistachio cultivars of 
Syrian origin, (b) Pistachio orchard at the Mascara University 
experimental fields
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 20224
S. A. BOUALEM et al.
(Kamangar et al., 1975). On the other hand, the research-
ers reported that the fat contents of five Iranian cultivars 
were calculated ranged from 52.48 to 60.65 % (Abdosha-
hi et al., 2011). A total of 17 pistachio cultivars from dif-
ferent locations in Iran were characterized according to 
fatty contents and they were determined ranged from 
49.9 to 58.5 % (Yahyavi et al., 2020). In addition to dif-
ferent traits of cultivars, the climatic conditions of the 
cultivation region and the maintenance of the pistachio 
orchards could be the causes of the difference in the fat 
amount (Chahed et al., 2008). The fat content and fatty 
acids compositions of five pistachio cultivars (‘Adjmi’, 
‘Bayadhi’, ‘Batouri’, ‘Achouri’ and ‘Neb-djemel’) were giv-
en in Table 1.
3.2 FATTY ACIDS COMPOSITIONS
The kernels of pistachio are rich in monounsaturat-
ed fatty acids followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids and 
saturated fatty acids. Although the highest percentage 
of MUFA was detected as 56.97 % in ‘Adjmi’, the lowest 
percentage of MUFA was calculated as 62.10 % in ‘Baya-
dhi’. The lowest and the highest amount of PUFA were 
identified as 19.96 % and 27.15 % in ‘Batouri’ and ‘Neb-
djemel’, respectively. The average content of unsaturated 
fatty acids was determined as 76.93 % in this study, while 
this value was found as 81.5 % of the total fatty acids in 
Iranian cultivars (Kamangar et al., 1975). The percentage 
of SFA were ranged between 9.90 and 10.37 %, and found 
in ‘Neb-djemel’ and ‘Batouri’ cultivars, respectively. The 
ratio of unsaturated/saturated acids in the kernel of these 
pistachio cultivars varied from 7.69 to 8.52 with an aver-
age of 8.05 (Table 2). This ratio was determined as 7.90 
in Turkish cultivars and was found to be similar to the 
results of this study (Agar et al., 1995).
One of the main fatty acid components of pistachio 
cultivars, oleic acid, was found in ranging from 56.35 to 
61.90 %. This value was detected as slightly lower in Ira-
nian cultivars (48.96-55.24 %) (Abdoshahi et al., 2011). 
On the other hand, while linoleic acid values were cal-
culated (19.48-26.76 %) significantly lower than Iranian 
cultivars (30.48- 36.88  %), palmitic acid values were 
identified (8.23–9.49  %) similar to another research 
(Abdoshahi et al., 2011). The previous report demon-
strated that high oleic content and lower levels of linoleic 
acid content make nut oil more stable against oxidative 
changes (Küçüköner and Yurt 2003). Shakerardekani et 
al. (2015) reported that pistachio is highly susceptible to 
lipid oxidation due to its high oil content, however that 
high oleic and palmitic oil content increased the oxida-
tion stability.
The myristic (0.21-0.43  %), stearic (0.64-1.40  %), 
palmitoleic (0.10-0.62  %) and linolenic (0.39-0.59  %) 
were detected in traces in the current study. The previ-
ous findings related to fatty acids supported that oleic 
acid was the most common monounsaturated fatty acid, 
while linoleic acid was the most common polyunsatu-
rated fatty acid in pistachio (Shokraii, 1977; Garcia et al., 
1992; Kafkas et al., 1995; Agar et al, 1995; Okay, 2002; 
Satil et al., 2003; Esteki et al., 2019) and the similar results 
were found in this study.
The two-factor ANOVA (Cultivar and Type) dem-
Cultivars
Oil 
Content
Myristic 
C14:0
Palmitic 
C16:0
Stearic 
C18:0
Total 
SFA
Palmitoleic 
C16:1
Oleic 
C18:1
Total 
MUFAs
Linoleic 
C18:2
Linolenic  
C18:3
Total 
PUFAs
Adjmi 50.23 ± 
0.43
0.43 ± 
0.01
8.23 ± 
0.36
1.40 ± 
0.18
10.06 ± 
0.17
0.62 ± 0.24 56.35 ± 
2.13
56.97 ± 
1.88
19.87 ± 
1.53
0.57 ± 
0.08
20.45 ± 
1.46
Bayadhi 65.42 ± 
1.05
0.3 ± 0.12 9.20 ± 
0.04
0.79 ± 
0.07
10.29 ± 
0.14
0.20 ± 0.04 61.90 ± 
1.07
62.10 ± 
1.02
20.98 ± 
0.12
0.47 ± 
0.01
21.45 ± 
0.12
Batouri 57.29 ± 
1.94
0.24 ± 
0.01
9.49 ± 
0.07
0.64 ± 
0.17
10.37 ± 
0.23
0.45 ± 0.02 60.46 ± 
0.66
60.46 ± 
0.66
19.48 ± 
0.27
0.48 ± 
0.01
19.96 ± 
0.26
Achouri 63.13 ± 
2.09
0.28 ± 
0.07
8.73 ± 
0.07
0.97 ± 
0.02
9.98 ± 
0.16
0.21 ± 0.04 60.41 ± 
0.61
60.41 ± 
0.61
20.73 ± 
0.28
0.59 ± 
0.01
21.32 ± 
0.29
Neb- 
djemel
55.92 ± 
2.49
0.21 ± 
0.07
9.01 ± 
0.15
0.67 ± 
0.04
9.90 ± 
0.04
0.10 ± 0.02 57.24 ± 
0.33
57.24 ± 
0.33
26.76 ± 
0.55
0.39 ± 
0.03
27.15 ± 
0.59
Table 1: The oil content (%) and fatty acid composition (%) of the five varieties of pistachio
Cultivars
Saturated fatty 
acids (%)
Unsaturated 
fatty acids (%)
Unsaturated/ 
saturated
Adjmi 10.06 ± 0.17 77.42 ± 3.34 7.69
Bayadhi 10.29 ± 0.14 83.55 ± 1.14 8.11
Batouri 10.37 ± 0.23 80.42 ± 0.92 7.75
Achouri 9.98 ± 0.16 81.73 ± 0.9 8.18
Neb-djemel 9.9 ± 0.04 84.39 ± 0.92 8.52
Table 2: The total saturated and unsaturated fatty acids content 
of pistachio cultivars
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 2022 5
Quality index based on fatty acids for Syrian pistachio cultivars (Pistacia vera L.) grown in Mascara (North-West of Algeria)
onstrated that there was a significant difference between 
cultivars (p < 0.001), types (p < 0.001). And, this analysis 
showed the existence of a significant interaction between 
cultivar and type (p < 0.001) (Table 3).
To detect the source of the differences, Tukey’s post 
hoc Honesty Signicance Difference (HSDT) test was ap-
plied with the help of the agricolae R package (Mend-
iburu, 2020). The ‘Neb-djemel’, ‘Bayadhi’, ‘Achouri’ and 
‘Batouri’ pistachio cultivars generated close results, while 
“Adjmi” cultivar created relatively different result from 
the others (Table 4).
The Tukey test revealed that the highest fatty acid 
compositions were identified as O leic.C18:1 (59.12), 
while the lowest results were calculated in Stearic.C18:0, 
Linolenic.C18:3, Palmitoleic.C16:1, Myristic.C14:0, re-
spectively. The most efficient interaction was determined 
between ‘Bayadhi’, ‘Achouri’, ‘Batouri’ pistachio cultivars. 
On the other hand, the highest linoleic fatty acid com-
position was calculated as 26.76 in ‘Neb-djemel’ and the 
lowest linoleic value was found in ‘Batouri’ pistachio cul-
tivar. Although the highest and the lowest palmitic acid 
compositions were detected as 9.49 and 8.24 in ‘Batouri’ 
and ‘Adjmi’, respectively. Although the lowest linolenic, 
myristic and palmitoleic fatty acid values were calculated 
as 0.40, 0.22 and 0.11 in ‘Neb-djemel’, respectively, the 
highest myristic, palmitoleic and stearic fatty acids were 
produced as 0.43, 0.62 and 1.40 in ‘Adjmi’ pistachio culti-
var, respectively (Table 5).
3.3 PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS OF 
FATTY ACIDS
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is very helpful 
for processing and interpretation large amounts of quan-
titative data. It is a very important analysis in reducing 
the dimensionality of a large number of interdependent 
variables. The PCA analysis can illustrate the individuals’ 
values, in a 2-dimensional plane, using the similarities 
or differences between them. In the present study, PCA 
was performed using the FactoMineR package (Le et al., 
2008). The percent 86.47 of the total variability was ex-
plained by axes 1 and 2. The projection of the variables 
demonstrated that Linolenic.C18:3, Palmitoleic.C16:1, 
Myristic.C14:0 and Stearic.C18:0 were correlated signifi-
cantly with axis 1, while Oleic.C18:1 (Linoleic.C18:2) was 
correlated (inversely correlated) with axis 2 (Figure 2).
The average of fatty acids belonging to all cultivars 
were calculated and grouped according to letters. Oleic.
C18:1, Linoleic.C18:2 and Palmitic.C16:0 fatty acids had 
different groups from others, a, b, c; respectively (Table 5, 
Figure 2). However, statistically significant?? differences 
were detected between cultivars in Oleic.C18.1 and Lin-
oleic.C18:2 fatty acids. The Oleic.C18:1 values of the cul-
tivars were classified in two groups such as a and b. These 
values were determined similar in Batouri, Achouri and 
Bayadhi pistachio cultivars, while Adjmi and Neb-djemel 
were replaced in same group according to Oleic.C18:1 
values of them. The Linoleic.C18:2 fatty acid values of 
Neb-djemel were calculated as higher than other pista-
chio cultivars and found different statistically. Adjmi and 
Neb-djemel pistachio cultivars were separated from the 
others due to differences among all pistachio cultivars 
according to Oleic.C18:1 and Linoleic.C18:2 fatty acids 
values in the analysis of PCA (Figure 3).
4 CONCLUSION
In the present study, fatty acid compositions of Syr-
ian pistachio cultivars were determined. The ‘Bayadhi’ 
and ‘Achouri’ cultivars have the highest oil content, while 
‘Adjmi’ has the lowest oil content. It determined that pis-
tachio is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids such as, 
oleic acid and quite poor in saturated fatty acids. The 
highest SFA, MUFA, and PUFA values were detected 
in ‘Batouri’, ‘Bayadhi’, and ‘Neb-jemel’ pistachio culti-
  Df Sum Sq Mean Sq F value Pr (> F)
Cultivars 4 8.51 2.13 7.71 0.0001
Type 6 28418.79 4736.47 17150.98 3.60E-59
Cultivar:Type 24 107.44 4.48 16.21 1.23E-12
Residuals 35 9.67 0.28    
Table 3: The results of two-way ANOVA analysis
Cultivars Value Groups
Neb-djemel 13.47 a
Bayadhi 13.41 a
Achouri 13.10 a
Batouri 12.97 ab
Adjmi 12.50 b
Table 4: The results of multiple comparisons between cultivars 
with Tukey’s test
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 20226
S. A. BOUALEM et al.
Cultivars The fatty acids Values Groups Average Values Groups
Batouri Oleic.C18:1 60.01 a 59.12 a
Achouri 60.21 a
Bayadhi 61.90 a
Adjmi 56.36 b
Neb-djemel 57.13 b
Neb-djemel Linoleic.C18:2 26.76 c 21.56 b
Batouri 19.49 d
Adjmi 19.88 d
Achouri 20.73 d
Bayadhi 20.98 d
Adjmi Palmitic.C16:0 8.24 e 8.93 c
Achouri 8.73 e
Neb-djemel 9.02 e
Bayadhi 9.20 e
Batouri 9.49 e
Neb-djemel Linolenic.C18:3 0.40 f 0.50 d
Bayadhi 0.47 f
Batouri 0.48 f
Adjmi 0.58 f
Achouri 0.59 f
Neb-djemel Myristic.C14:0 0.22 f 0.29 d
Batouri 0.24 f
Achouri 0.29 f
Bayadhi 0.30 f
Adjmi 0.43 f
Neb-djemel Palmitoleic.C16:1 0.11 f 0.32 d
Bayadhi 0.20 f
Achouri 0.21 f
Batouri 0.46 f
Adjmi 0.62 f
Batouri Stearic.C18:0 0.64 f 0.89 d
Neb-djemel 0.67 f
Bayadhi 0.80 f
Achouri 0.97 f
Adjmi 1.40 f
Table 5: The results of multiple comparisons between cultivars-type with the Tukey’s test
Acta agriculturae Slovenica, 118/4 – 2022 7
Quality index based on fatty acids for Syrian pistachio cultivars (Pistacia vera L.) grown in Mascara (North-West of Algeria)
vars, respectively, and the lowest in ‘Neb-jemel’, ‘Adjmi’, 
and ‘Batouri’ cultivars. These results demonstrated that 
pistachio has a satisfying ratio of unsaturated and satu-
rated fatty acids that provide superior nutritional value 
for consumers. As a result, the results obtained from this 
study are important in terms of using them for future pis-
tachio breeding studies. 
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