Effects of geographical origin and variety on vitamin and mineral composition of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) varieties cultivated in Turkey

The effects of variety and geographical origin on vitamin and mineral composition of eight different varieties of hazelnut cultivated in the Black Sea Region of Turkey were studied. The mean contents of niacin, vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, vitamin Bg and a-tocopherol were 1.81 +/- 0.28, 0.30 +/- 0.07, 0.10 +/- 0.01, 0.240 +/- 0.05, and 35.53 +/- 3.82 mg/100 g, respectively. The mean contents of iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese, calcium, potassium and sodium were 2.32 +/- 0.21, 1.95 +/- 0.25, 0.65 +/- 0.29, 144 +/- 14.86, 6.09 +/- 4.17, 83.5 +/- 5.14, 637 +/- 105.33 and 0.70 +/- 0.10 mg/100 g, respectively. Vitamin and mineral compositions of the varieties were not significantly different from each other. Geographical region differences did not significantly affect alpha-tocopherol, iron, manganese and calcium contents of the samples. Zinc, manganese, and sodium levels of Akcakoca samples were higher than for the other regions. Correlation analysis showed that alpha-tocopherol content correlated strongly with minerals (manganese, sodium, zinc, potassium) and vitamin B-6. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.