Nutritional quality of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivars from Portugal

Chemical composition of eight sweet chestnut cultivars from the three protected designation of origin (PDO) areas in the Tras-os-Montes region were studied: Aveleira, Reborda, Trigueira and Zeive from PDO 'Terra Fria', Demanda, Longal and Martainha from PDO 'Soutos da Lapa' and Judia from PDO 'Padrela'. Chestnuts were characterised by high moisture content (similar to 50%), high levels of starch (43 g 100 g(-1) dry matter - d.m.) and low fat content (3 g 100 g(-1) d.m.). Nuts contained significant amounts of fibre (3% d.m.), were rich in K (similar to 750 mg 100 g(-1) d.m.), P (similar to 120 mg 100 g(-1) d.m.) and Mg (similar to 75 mg 100 g(-1) d.m.). Moreover, chestnuts are a good source of total amino acids (6-9 g 100 g(-1) d.m.). Amino acid profiles were dominated by L-aspartic acid, followed by L-glutamic acid, leucine, L-alanine and arginine. These results provide additional information about the nutritional value of each cultivar and confirm that chestnuts are an interesting healthy food. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.