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1. Introduction
During the last decade, a remarkable increase in worldwide almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill) D.A. Webb) production has been recorded, reaching 3,182,902 tons in 2018 (FAOSTAT, 2020). Almond kernel is a nutrient-dense food, with a high content of proteins (12–22%) or carbohydrates (20%) (Ahmad, 2010; Özcan et al., 2020a), rich in fiber (Kamil and Chen, 2012) and macro and micro minerals being rich in most of the essential elements (Özcan et al., 2020b). Furthermore, the almond stands out for its high oil content (40–67%), a fatty acid profile with a low percentage of saturated fats, and monounsaturated fatty acids predominating (Yada et al., 2011). The cultivar and environmental conditions can affect this composition (Sanahuja et al., 2021) as the harvest time (Matthäus et al., 2018).
Almond oil also contains minor phytochemical compounds such as tocopherols, sterols or phenolic compounds with biological activity and antioxidant properties (Roncero et al., 2020). Other minor compounds are phytosterols which carry out cell functions in the plants analogous to those of cholesterol in animals (Sanahuja et al., 2021).
Vegetable seed oils extracted by the cold press method are well-known as a rich source of health-promoting fatty acids and many bioactive compounds (Özcanv et al., 2021). Almond oil was reported to have potential roles in cardiovascular risk management, glucose homeostasis, oxidative stress reduction and neuroprotection (Ouzir et al., 2021), but also with effects on other pathologies, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus or metabolic syndrome (Barreca et al., 2020). These activities are generally attributed to the lipid fraction (fatty acid profile and minor compounds such as polyphenols and phytosterols).
The oils obtained from nuts are a culinary ingredient that provides new organoleptic properties (Uriarte et al., 2011). Recently, the production of high-quality almond oil for human consumption has been developed, basically marketed in Gourmet-type establishments for use in gastronomy (Roncero et al., 2016a). Almond oil is produced on a small scale in many countries such as France, Spain and the United States. The demand for new oil specialities encourages the investigation of appropriate methods to improve the production of edible almond oil. Its quantitative and qualitative extraction is essential to determine the feasibility of converting it into a...