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Article

Fatty Acid Profiling of “Mollar de Elche” Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Peel and Seeds: Impact of Farming System, Locality, and Interannual Climate Variability

by
Nataly Tatiana Coronel Montesdeoca
1,*,
Lucía Andreu-Coll
2,
Hanán Issa-Issa
3,
Guillermo Alexander Jácome Sarchi
1,
Hernán Rigoberto Benavides Rosales
1,
Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina
3 and
Francisca Hernández
4,*
1
Grupo de Investigación Agricultura Sostenible (GIAS), Carrera de Agropecuaria, Universidad Politécnica Estatal del Carchi, Tulcán 040102, Ecuador
2
Grupo de Fruticultura, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Agrotecnología, Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Medioambiental (IMIDA), Calle Mayor, s/n, 30150 La Alberca, Murcia, Spain
3
Research Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Institute for Agri-Food and Agri-Environmental Research and Innovation, Miguel Hernández University (CIAGRO-UMH), 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain
4
Research Group in Fruit Science and Production Techniques, Institute for Agri-Food and Agri-Environmental Research and Innovation, Miguel Hernández University (CIAGRO-UMH), Ctra. Beniel, km 3,2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Foods 2026, 15(13), 2374; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132374
Submission received: 5 May 2026 / Revised: 7 June 2026 / Accepted: 2 July 2026 / Published: 3 July 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Foods)
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Abstract

Agronomic practices and interannual climate variability significantly modulate the bioactive composition of agricultural by-products. This study evaluated the effects of farming systems (organic vs. conventional) and geographic locality across two harvest seasons (2022–2023) on the fatty acid (FA) profiles of peel and seeds from the “Mollar de Elche” pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Gas chromatography (GC-FID) analyses demonstrated that the harvest year, characterized by significantly reduced extreme temperature days in 2023, exerted a dominant, overriding effect on lipid biosynthesis compared to agronomic management. In the seeds, punicic acid was the unequivocal predominant FA, increasing dramatically from an average of ~75,700 mg/kg dry matter (DM) under severe heat stress (2022) to ~150,000 mg/kg DM under milder conditions (2023) (p < 0.001). In the peel, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) accumulation was strictly dependent on the interaction between localized geographic micro-conditions and climate, rendering the farming system a secondary factor. Crucially, the milder 2023 season significantly enhanced the unsaturated-to-saturated (U/S) ratio in both tissues and markedly improved cardiovascular lipid quality, lowering both the Atherogenic (AI) and Thrombogenic (TI) indices. These findings demonstrate that while organic farming can optimize lipid unsaturation under favorable climatic conditions, severe environmental stress nullifies these agronomic benefits, highlighting the need for climate-resilient strategies to valorize pomegranate by-products.
Keywords: conjugated linolenic acid; agricultural by-products; organic agriculture; climatic stress; nutritional lipid indices; atherogenic index conjugated linolenic acid; agricultural by-products; organic agriculture; climatic stress; nutritional lipid indices; atherogenic index

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MDPI and ACS Style

Coronel Montesdeoca, N.T.; Andreu-Coll, L.; Issa-Issa, H.; Jácome Sarchi, G.A.; Benavides Rosales, H.R.; Carbonell-Barrachina, Á.A.; Hernández, F. Fatty Acid Profiling of “Mollar de Elche” Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Peel and Seeds: Impact of Farming System, Locality, and Interannual Climate Variability. Foods 2026, 15, 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132374

AMA Style

Coronel Montesdeoca NT, Andreu-Coll L, Issa-Issa H, Jácome Sarchi GA, Benavides Rosales HR, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA, Hernández F. Fatty Acid Profiling of “Mollar de Elche” Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Peel and Seeds: Impact of Farming System, Locality, and Interannual Climate Variability. Foods. 2026; 15(13):2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132374

Chicago/Turabian Style

Coronel Montesdeoca, Nataly Tatiana, Lucía Andreu-Coll, Hanán Issa-Issa, Guillermo Alexander Jácome Sarchi, Hernán Rigoberto Benavides Rosales, Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina, and Francisca Hernández. 2026. "Fatty Acid Profiling of “Mollar de Elche” Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Peel and Seeds: Impact of Farming System, Locality, and Interannual Climate Variability" Foods 15, no. 13: 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132374

APA Style

Coronel Montesdeoca, N. T., Andreu-Coll, L., Issa-Issa, H., Jácome Sarchi, G. A., Benavides Rosales, H. R., Carbonell-Barrachina, Á. A., & Hernández, F. (2026). Fatty Acid Profiling of “Mollar de Elche” Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Peel and Seeds: Impact of Farming System, Locality, and Interannual Climate Variability. Foods, 15(13), 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132374

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