Twelve fatty acids were identified during maturity in the wild Tunisian and cultivar peanut kernels. These fatty acids include C16:0 (palmitic acid), C18:0 (stearic acid), C18:1 (oleic acid), C18:2 (linoleic acid), C19:0 (nonadecanoic acid), C20:1 (gadoleic acid), C20:0 (arachidic acid), C22:1 (erucic acid), C22:0 (behenic acid), C23:0 (tricosanoic acid), C24:0 (linoceric acid), and C26:0 (cerotic acid). Three fatty acids C19:0, C23:0 and C26:0 are not currently detected from peanut kernels in the literature. Furthermore, eight major fatty acids (C16:0, C18:0 , C18:1, C18:2 , C20:0, C20:1, C22:0 and C24:0) were quantified during different stages of maturity. The wild Tunisian peanut (AraA) was distinguished by the highest level of oleic (38.72%) and stearic (2.63%) acids and the lowest content of linoleic acid (19.40%) compared to the cultivars. Correlation coefficients (r) between the eight major fatty acids revealed an inverse association between oleic and linoleic acids (r= - 0.99, p<0.001), while linoleic acid was positively correlated to palmitic acid (r= 0.97). A positive correlation between oleic acid and gondoic acid was also noted (r= 0.82). These results aim to provide a detailed basis for quality improvement in the cultivated peanut with wild resources.

Keywords: Fatty acids; Wild peanut; Cultivar peanut; GC-MS; Accumulation.