Abstract
The current study investigated the impact of sonication process on antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, total phenolic, total flavonoid, oil contents, fatty acids profile, and tocopherols of terebinth (
Pistacia terebinthus
) fruits. The highest antioxidant activity (87.32%), total phenolic (251.25 mg/100 g) and flavonoid (3413.72 mg/100 g) contents were observed in terebinth fruits sonicated for 30 min. The oil contents of terebinth increased from 38.93% (control) to 42.60% (sonicated for 15 min) after sonication process. The quercetin and catechin were the chief phenolic compounds in
P. terebinthus
extracts and their values were increased from 129.09 to 467.28 mg/100 g (quercetin) and from 5.58 to 21.33 mg/100 g (catechin) in fruits sonicated for 30 min. The major fatty acids of terebinth fruit oil were oleic (48.02–49.15%), linoleic (22.28–23.48%) and palmitic (22.10–23.67%) and sonication processes did not affect the quantities of these fatty acids. γ-Tocopherol was the most abundant isomer with the value of 63.95–122.03 mg/100 g in terebinth fruit oil. It could be concluded that pre-sonication for 30 min was more suitable for enhancing the antioxidants and phenolic compounds of
P. terebinthus
fruit.