Nut Oils: New Insights into Extraction, Quality, and Novel Uses in the Food Industry

Dear Colleagues,

Botanically, nuts are fruits made up of a hard outer shell with a generally edible seed inside. They are widely cultivated throughout the world and have been part of the human diet since the beginning of mankind. Among other compounds with positive nutritional attributes, nuts are characterized by their high content of fats, which are generally composed of a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, nut oils contain other bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties, such as polyphenols or tocopherols, which make them functional ingredients with a promising capacity to be included in a healthy diet. To obtain high-quality nut oils, it is important to consider the extraction method. This must be done avoiding chemical processes so that the obtained oils can be considered as virgin oils, preserving all the beneficial compounds found in the nuts—especially those minor compounds with bioactive properties. In this sense, pressure systems leading to cold-pressed oils or new extraction technologies based on supercritical fluids can be applied. Some other technologies like microwave- or ultrasound-assisted extraction can also be applied to obtain higher yields. In addition, the demands of today’s society encourage the search for new insights to incorporate nut oils in the formulation of novel food products to achieve a healthier diet where the consumption of saturated fats can be reduced. Moreover, the use of defatted flours is also of great interest, as this by-product obtained by the grinding of the pressing cake shows a great nutritional value with high content in protein, fiber, or minerals.

Thus, novel data regarding the characterization of new nut oils obtained by mechanical methods, or the incorporation of these ingredients and the resulting defatted flours, in the formulation of novel foods such as meat products with a reduced saturated fat content or in the elaboration of gluten-free bakery products may be of interest.

Dr. Manuel Alvarez-Orti
Guest Editor

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• bioactive compounds
• cold-pressed oils
• defatted flours
• functional foods
• stability
• unsaturated fat