*3.3. Fatty Acids*

As previously reported, melon-seed oils are mainly composed of linoleic (50.67%–69.22%) and oleic (15.23%–33.96%) acids. Saturated fatty acids, mainly palmitic and stearic, accounted for less than 15.62% in all studied cultivars (Table 3). Our data support previous results about the high variability of the fatty acid profile in melon-seed oils [5,7,8,10,11]. Some cultivars, such as Tendral Valenciano and Tendral Verde, showed a high content of linoleic acid, 69.22% and 69.15%, respectively, in comparison with cv. Piel de Sapo PGI, which showed the lowest values. As widely reported in other unsaturated plant oils, linoleic and oleic content were negatively correlated [31,32].

Extraction method had no effect on the fatty acid composition of the oils. When seeds from cv. Piel de Sapo PGI were used, oils extracted with the screw and hydraulic presses showed slight differences in fatty acid profile (Table 3). Similarly, small differences in the content of linoleic acid were found when the results for cv. Honey Dew were compared to those of the study of Bora, Narain, and de MeIio [5], who used solvent extraction for the same cultivar. In all cases, the differences reported from the cultivars were determinants compared to those small differences that could be attributed to the oil-extraction method.
