*ey concluded that 20% of acorn flour had a positiveimpact on bread volume and physical properties of thecrumb. Also, it was found that supplementation of breadwith debittered acorn flour not only strengthened doughstructure but also enriched bread with proteins, minerals,and dietary fiber, which makes acorn flour an interestingingredient for the development of gluten-free bread

. *is studyshowed that the addition of 45% acorn flour exhibited higherbiscuit antioxidant activity and reduced peroxide value incomparison to other formulations. Likewise, it was reportedthat acorn flour contributed to higher growth (an average of367%) of the antioxidant activity of the biscuits as well asimproved sensory acceptance [60].

Previously, a diet with a high content of MUFA hasbeen proved to decrease cardiovascular morbidity andmortality [50]. In addition, plant oils rich in PUFA (espe-cially linolenic acid and c-linolenic acid) may help to reg-ulate the blood plasma triglyceride levels in patients withdyslipidemia, lower the blood pressure, and protect againstcoronary heart disease

e results of large observationalstudies suggest that the inclusion of acorns in animal feedingaffects positively the nutritional value of meat and meatproducts. Recently, the effect of consumption of acornduring suckling and fattening of lambs on growth, meatquality, and fatty acid profile was conducted by Mekki et al.[44]. *e findings indicated that acorn may be replacedbarely without any impact on growth performance. Lambsfed on acorns have also an increased α-linolenic acid con-centration, which may result in lowering n − 6 : n − 3 ratio. Inaddition, it was reported that meat products from Iberianpigs fed extensively on acorns during the fattening phasehave greater quality compared to those fed with mixed diets.[3]. Posteriorly, Rey et al. [45] observed that diets based onacorns provide a source of c-tocopherol for pigs raisedextensively. In a recent study, Alipanahi et al. [46] reportedthat the inclusion of acorn (100 g/kg DM) in diets containingextruded soybean seed did not affect performance, ruminalfermentation, and plasma metabolites in lactating goats.Besides, it contributes to improving the nutritional value ofmilk fat for human consumption. *e influence of acornintake on blood profile and longissimus muscle (MLD)composition of the Slavonian pig was also investigated bySalajpal et al. [9]. *e results indicated that triglyceride andtotal cholesterol levels were lower in the blood comparedwith the intake of a corn-based diet. *e intake of acornresulted in 11% (0.22 mmol/l) lower total cholesterol con-centration and 48% lower (0.20 mmol/l) triglycerides con-centration. Tejerana et al. [32] showed that acorns and grassare natural sources of antioxidants and fatty acids in the‘‘montanera” feeding of Iberian pig, which are importantfrom the point of view of consumer health. *ere was also astudy showing the protective effect of acorns with oleic acidin preventing ulcerative colitis in an animal study

Carotenoids are also found in high con-tents (66.33 ± 0.90 mg kg−1 oil) in the acorn oil extractedfrom Q suber L.; this oil is also rich in chlorophylls(2.03 ± 0.01 mg kg−1 oil) [21]. Acorns (Q. faginea) are rich inlycopene compound (183 ± 141 g/g dm) and β-carotene(1312 ± 890 (μg/g dm)

e level of phenolic contents (expressed in gallicacid equivalent) ranged between 195.6 and 322.06 mg GAE/kg oil while flavonoid contents (expressed in catechinequivalent) ranged between 122.99 and 131.6 mg CE/kg ofoil. *e total phenolic compound contents in different va-rieties of acorn oil ranged between 84 and 109 mg/kg [2].*ese compounds contribute to increasing the oxidativestability of the acorn oil.

Recently, Gornaset al. [13] reported that β- and c-tocopherols are pre-dominated homologues in acorn oils from Q. rubra andQ. robur. *e total concentration of tocopherols in Q. roburacorn oil was 447.7 mg/100 g oil, whereas the concentrationin Q. rubra acorn oil was 78.4 mg/100 g oil.

Acorn oils are also anexcellent source of tocopherols, since it was found thattocopherol contents in acorn oils range from 1440 to1783 mg/kg oil, which were much higher than those reportedfor other species such as olive (240 mg/kg)

Tocopherols and Phenolic Compounds. Tocopherols arelipid-soluble phenolic compounds that naturally exist inoilseeds in four different forms (α-, β-, c-, and δ-tocoph-erols). *ese compounds are valued for their capacity toprotect humans from the oxidative damage mediated byactive oxygen and nitrogen species and prevent lipids andlipid-containing foodstuffs from oxidation during storage[41]. Furthermore, Tocopherols have been shown to play apivotal role in preventing hormone-dependent breast cancerprogression, colon carcinogenesis, lung tumorigenesis, andprostate cancer cell growth [18

induced antiproliferative effects on the growth of CHO-K1and human melanoma oncogenic cell lines [39]. Addi-tionally, docosanol displayed antiviral activity on the herpessimplex virus (HSV-1) by interfering with early intracellularevents surrounding viral entry into target cells

Furthermore, acorn oils were reported to contain ap-preciable amounts of aliphatic alcohol (2190–2240 mg/kg)[17]. Tetracosanol was the predominant compound of thisclass (43.70%–59.48%), followed by hexacosanol(18.66–26.93%), yet, docosanol and octacosanol were the lessabundant aliphatic alcohol in acorn oils, consisting of13.17–26.24% and 1.52–9.33%, respectively

Phytosterol consumption isimportant for consumers to decrease cholesterol levels in theblood [19]. In addition, it displayed anticancer properties invivo on prostate, lung, stomach, ovarian, colon, and breastcancer [

Phytosterol is present in acorn oil between4632.71 and 11576.09 mg/kg, [17] which were inclusivelyhigher than those reported for almond (1430 mg/kg), soy-bean (1600 mg/kg), olive (2210 mg/kg), pistachio (2790 mg/kg), and pine oils (4298 mg/kg), despite being in the samerange as those described for sesame and corn oils(8650–9680 mg/kg, respectively) [35–37]. *e acorn oils aregenerally characterized by a high percentage of β-sitosterol(88.3–92.5%) followed by campesterol (1.57–4.28%) andcampesterol (1.57–4.28%). However, stigmasterol, cler-osterol, 5-avenasterol, 5,24–stigmastadienol, Δ7-stigmaste-nol, and Δ7-avenasterol were present with minor amounts(lower than 2%) [17]. Moreover, [13] investigated the sterolcomposition of different varieties of acorn and foundβ-sitosterol as dominant (64.3%–68.1%) followed bycycloartenol (11.4%–15.0%), campesterol, Δ5-stigmasterol,Δ5-avenasterol, and 24 methylenecycloartanol (rang of3.0–6.7%). *e amounts of campestanol, sitostanol, and Δ7-avenasterol were below 3.0%.

Phytosterols and Aliphatic Alcohols. Plant sterols andplant stanols, known commonly as phytosterols, are animportant group of natural compounds, biologically activein the prevention of several diseases

Based on these findings, it can be concluded that acornoil is a healthy source of important fatty acids which canbe used for the dietary purpose and cosmetic uses. Inaddition, the difference in their percentages may be usefulas a biochemical fingerprint to differentiate between acornspecies.

Stearic acid is a long-chain saturated fattyacid which is known to be neutral in its effect in the cho-lesterol concentrations in human

Stearic acid (1%–4%), eicosenoicacid (0.37%), arachidic acid (0.38%), behenic acid (0.12%),and behenic acid (0.20%) are shown in minor compositionin the acorn oil.

Numerous studiesshowed that these fatty acids, especially α-linolenic acid, canhave a role in promoting blood lipid profile and treating thesymptoms of dermatitis.

Acorn oilscontain high amounts of linoleic acid (37.2%–32.6%) andc-linolenic acid (1.8% to 3.7%)

As described previously, oleic acid(OA) is the main monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)present in acorn oil. Several studies have revealed thebeneficial propriety, particularly in preventing diabetesmellitus T2DM and decreasing cardiovascular disease risk,besides contributing to improving hemostasis, platelet ag-gregation, and fibrinolysis

*epercentage of oleic acid in acorns is significantly higher thanin other fruits generally considered a natural source of oleicacids such as walnut (21%), peanut (38.41%), and mustardoil (36.7%) [33] with the concentration of this acid beingonly exceeded by olive oil (56%–84%)

the major saturated fatty acid ispalmitic acid ranging from 11.69% to 16.22%

Oleic and linoleic acids are the majorunsaturated fatty acids described in acorns species, rangingfrom 65.83% to 48.02% and 25.38% to 14.17% of total fattyacids

As regards the physical properties, acorn oilsshowed a refractive index ranging from 1.449 to 1.453 [21].*ese values are similar to those reported previously by [2]for acorn oils from other species and comparable to othervegetable oils such as olive oil 1.4677–1.4705.

e specific gravity ofthe oil extracted from acorn ranges from 0.912 to 0.922[2, 30], similar to the specific gravity of diesel oil (1.0) [29].*is finding revealed that acorn oils are suitable for dieselproduction.

*e free fatty acid (FFA) content is an important pa-rameter to evaluate the quality of an oil. *e oil is moresuitable for human consumption when it possesses low FFAcontent [29]. *e percentage of free fatty acids reported foracorn oils ranges from 0.92% to 5.8%. High values of FFAobserved in acorn oils may be caused by the bad conser-vation of the fruits before extraction and analysis or theincomplete ripeness of the seeds [12

*e iodinevalue represents the degree of unsaturation of the oils andthe fat, and the more unsaturation leads to a higher iodinevalue [29]. *e iodine value for acorn oil reported by [2] was75–88 g/100 g, which is comparable to the value of olive oil75–94 g/100 g. *e highest iodine value of acorn oil wasreported to be 129.6 g/100 g [21].

]. *esaponification values of acorn oils range from 160.3 to220 mg KOH/g. *e saponification value of acorn oils iscomparable to that of olive oil (184–196 mg KOH/g) [2]. *isrelatively high saponification value indicates that oils holdfatty acids with a high number of carbon atoms

Acorn oil presents good nutritional quality,and its flavor is comparable to that of olive oil

e oil content of acorn speciesranged from 5% to 20% depending on the variety and lo-calization of the collected sample. However, Ofcarcik et al.[28] reported higher oil yield (about 30%) in black and redacorn species

. In com-parison to Soxhlet extraction, SFE using carbon dioxide(CO2) is considered to be a green processing technique,avoiding the problem of contamination of the oil by a re-sidual solvent. Moreover, carbon dioxide is safe

Focused microwave-assisted Soxhlet extraction(FMASE) has already been successfully used to extract oilfrom acorns. *is method is based on the same principles asa conventional Soxhlet extractor but is modified to facilitateaccommodation of the sample cartridge compartment in theirradiation zone of a microwave oven [23]. P ́erez-Serradillaet al. [24] mentioned that FMASE provides an advantageover conventional methods because it enables total extrac-tion of the fatty acids in 30 min, which is much less than thetime required by the Folch (4.5 h), Soxhlet (16 h), ISO (8 h)reference methods, and the stirring–extraction method(56 h). Also, it was found that the degree of unsaturation ofthe oil extracted by FMASE is significantly dependent on theextraction conditions.

Soxhletextraction (SE) uses an organic solvent such as hexane andpetroleum ether which are widely applied to extract oil fromacorn [2, 12, 17, 21]. *is method is considered an efficienttechnique for over a century; the most outstanding ad-vantage of SE includes simplicity (no filtration is requiredafter the leaching step) and low energy consumption [22].Nevertheless, using a solvent is toxic and hard to be totallyeliminated, and this could result in severe contamination forthe final products

Tra-ditionally, cold pressing is one of the most methods used toproduce acorn oil. *is operation can be performed in lowpressure at about 0.5 MPa [1, 14]. Generally, cold pressing ismore preferable as it required less energy than other oilextraction techniques, is environmentally friendly, and alsoleads to the short duration of the process

Phytosterols(mainly β-sitosterol) are also present in acorn oil between4632.71 and 11576.09 mg/kg, which are inclusively higherthan those reported for almond (1430 mg/kg), soybean(1600 mg/kg), olive (2210 mg/kg), pistachio (2790 mg/kg),and pine oils (4298 mg/kg) [17]. *ese compounds withvarious biological activities are useful for promoting thedecrease of blood serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels[19].

However, [13] reportedthat β–tocopherol was the main tocopherol in Q. rubraacorn oils (93% of the total detected tocopherols), which is aunique phenomenon within not only acorn species but alsoother plant species.

Generally, in acorn oils, the predominant homologs oftocopherol are c-T and α-T, while β-T and δ-T are present inlow amounts or absent

*e fatty acid composition and physicochemical prop-erties of acorn oil are extremely similar to those of olive oil[2, 11, 12]. Acorn oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids(75–90%), especially oleic acid (65%), and essential fattyacids such as linoleic (17–37%) and α-linolenic (1–4.58%)acid (Table 1), which is important in eicosanoid synthesis,promoting the decrease of blood serum triglycerides and theincrease of HDL-cholesterol levels.

In Algeria, Mo-rocco, and the eastern USA, acorn oil has been used forcooking and as a salve for burns and injuries [1]. In Jordan,acorns have been traditionally used either as food directly oras an ingredient in products such as bread production [2]. InEurope, acorns are usually used as a feed source for free-ranging wild animals, especially the Iberian pigs [3],

Acorn oil has been receiving increasing attention due to its nutritional potentials. However, its application as a novel foodingredient has not yet been fully explored.

Châtaignes, noix des Carpates etglands doux (3*) peuvent germer sans stratification au froid

En principe, une période de froid (avoisinant 0-4° c) d’une durée de 3 mois minimum est nécessaire pourla plupart des noix de noyer, caryer, noisetier (1*) et pour les glands amers (2*).

Il est possible de forcer la germination des semences en avril voire vital de le faire dans le cas de semences duresou de celles qui ont séché quelque peu. Voici la recette: les mettre dans du sable ou paillis très humide (saturé)jusqu’à ce que quelques semences ébauchent une germination; semer par la suite. Plusieurs professionnelsrecommandent de les laisser tremper 24 h dans l’eau. N’hésitez pas à ouvrir quelques noix pour voir l’état del’amande intérieure si vous avez des doutes sur la qualité des noix. Les noisettes et noix de pin peuvent êtrelégèrement craquées pour être semées par après.

Les boites - bandes de semis temporaires -sont placées le plus possible à notre portée et bien irriguées la première année. Avec cette méthode, on peutespacer les semences entre elles jusqu’à trois fois leur grosseur en moyenne; on peut mettre 10 cm entre chaquenoix de noyer, 5 cm entre les noix de caryer, noisettes et glands; entre les pignons, de 2 à 3 cm. Il est plus faciled’entretenir une quantité de semis (jusqu’à 3 ans) de cette façon avant de les déraciner. En groupe, ces semispousseront plus vite par compétition et se déracineront facilement si la largeur des sillons n’excède pas 30 cm.

6. Les photos 6 et 7 montrent des semis de chênes et de caryers démarrant leur 2e année de croissance auprintemps. Il est recommandé de ne planter en pleine terre toute la motte (sans la défaire) qu’au début de la 3eannée, au printemps, et de laisser aux arbrisseaux encore une année de plus de croissance en pot. Si les noyerspeuvent être séparés et envoyés en terre après 1 an, il faut compter 2 ans en pots pour toutes les autres espèces.

Usually, when you pick up acorns, you have to dry them and peel them, so it takes a lot of maintenance, but you don't need to do that. If you pick up acorns and just dry them, the bugs will eat them all, but if you soak them in water, the bugs won't eat them and the astringent taste will come out. You don't even need to peel it. Just take it to the mill and it will grind it for you.

onpeut observer un énorme spécimen de chêne blancplus que centenaire à Ville Mont-Royal, plusprécisément au 398, Glengarry Avenue. Ce championmesure 30 mètres de haut et 5 mètres decirconférence. On peut voir sa photo sur :www.town.mount-royal.qc.ca/index.php?id=510&L=1

Les rares endroits où des peuplementsnaturels de chênes blancs existent au Québec sont leParc Paul-Sauvé à Oka et Pointe-aux-chênes dansl’Outaouais. Au delà de ces deux localités, les chênesblancs sont rarement en grand nombre et plutôtdisséminés dans le vaste secteur du Suroît et du sud-ouest de Montréal

J’ai recensé 5 ou 6 gros chênes des marais(Q. palustris) semenciers dans le grand Joliette

Le chêne à gros fruits et lechêne bleu, selon leurs âge et croissance, peuventfacilement être confondus entre eux. Des hybridesentre ces deux derniers existent aussi

ACORN (Sweet or edible): Ken Asmus, PO Box 19425, Kalamazoo, MI49019-0425. (616) 624-6233, 7 PM - 9 PM. oak24@aol.com

But, as the name implies, bitternut hickory nuts are bitter and not good to eat. Nature being the incredible thing it is, for whatever reason the tannins in the nuts that make bitternut bitter aren’t fat-soluble, meaning that you can press a delicious, healthy, natural oil from the bitter nuts.

Pour lancer notre verger, nous avons faitvenir du Dakota du Nord 1800 noyers noirsdont la rusticité avait été éprouvée par leclimat de là-bas : aussi froid que le nôtre enhiver, mais avec moins de neige au sol.Nous avons aussi fait stratifier et germer desnoix de toutes les espèces d’arbres quenous projetons de voir dignementreprésentés dans notre futur verger-école,durant l’hiver 2006-2007; merci au domaineJoly-de-Lotbinière, à M. Bernard Contré et àM. Neil Thomas pour les semences. Nousnous sommes aussi procuré 60 chênesblancs et 25 châtaigniers d’Amérique auprèsde l’UPA de Valleyfield, grâce aux initiativesde M.Giulio Neri, et enfin, nos 60 premiersnoisetiers hybrides à la Pépinière Lafeuilléede M. Contré

Le chêne pédonculé d’Europe (Q. robur)et surtout sa variance fastigié (fastigiata)est de plus en plus commun dans lesvilles à des fins d’embellissement. Sesglands sont considérés doux et mûrissentvers le tout début octobre ( en zone 4)quoiqu’à Montréal cette date est plus tôt.Le gland est long, gros, à coque mince etattaché par un très long pédoncule grêle.La forme fastigié est d’autant plus facile àidentifier l’hiver car ses feuilles y restentattachées aux rameaux

Le chêne bleu (Quercus bicolor) est aussirare au Québec (Montérégie, sud deMontréal) et certains individus ne sedistinguent pas si aisément du chêne àgros fruits (qui ne forme pas toujours deliège sur les rameaux). Les formationsécailleuses d’écorces sur ses branches,les longs pédoncules de ses glands (pasde frange autour des cupules) et unebonne partie de ses feuilles qui restentattachées l’hiver le distingue de cedernier

Le chêne blanc (Quercus alba) estparticulièrement rare bien que signalé ausud de Montréal, Oka et Pointe-aux-Chênes dans l’Outaouais. Le meilleurtemps pour le reconnaître à distance esten octobre lorsqu’il revête son colorieautomnal rouge bourgogne. Plus tard ensaison, selon l’âge de arbre, il garde unebonne quantité de ses feuilles tout l’hiver

Après lechêne rouge, le chêne à gros fruits(Quercus macrocarpa) est le plusabondant et son aspect particulier,branches rabougries près du tronc,ramure forte, formation de liège sur lesrameaux le démarque des autres arbreset chênes. C’est le seul chêne rustiquequi « fabrique » du liège sur sesbranches

Chêne bicolor x robur (photo 2): un spécimen àcroissance lente de 25 ans produit une quantitéabondante de glands de gros calibre à chaqueannée, attaché par un très long pédoncule(héritage de mes 2 chênes à longs pédoncules).Ce chêne est plus rustique que le Q. robur et sespetites feuilles sont lustrées et très ornementales

Le chêne Schuettei Q. bicolor x Q. macrocarpa :j’ai 5 spécimens de ce genre d’hybride qu’il estpossible de trouver à l’état indigène au Québec.Certains ressemblent plus à un de leur parentqu’à l’autre et un en particulier est plusornemental par ses feuilles longues très foncées.Les formes des glands et des pédoncules sontassez intermédiaires entre les deux espèces.

Le chêne ellipsoïdal, Q. ellipsoidalis (photo 5): cechêne méconnu mérite une place dans nosjardins, parcs, etc., car il est parfaitementrustique (zone 4a connue). En anglais, il porte lenom de Northern Pin Oak

Le chêne Saulii, Q. alba x Q. prinus, (photo 4) : leplus impressionnant de tous mes chênes avec delongues feuilles découpées et produisant à tousles ans de gros glands. Son colori est à tendancerougeâtre à l’automne. De croissance moyenne,sans plus. Ce chêne provient d’une semence ducultivar Q. x Saulii de Rochester NY .

Chêne robur x macrocarpa (photo 3): 3 spécimensâgés de 20-25 ans dont l’un produit une grandequantité de glands

Le chêne blanc, Quercus alba (photo 1): 4spécimens se sont plus que bien adaptés dans lesol sablonneux de la pépinière Lafeuillée

le chêne pédonculé(Q. robur) a de petites feuilles épaisses et lesglands sont attachés par un très long pédoncule.Le chêne à gros fruits (Q. macrocarpa) possèdeune grande rusticité qu’il transmet en partie, demême que la maturation hâtive de ses fruits. Lechêne blanc transmet souvent un coloriautomnal rougeâtre

On dit que ces deux champignons sont desparasites violents, capables de tuer un groschêne mature en quelques années. Je doisavouer que je n’ai jamais vu ces champignonsautrement qu’installés sur des souches ou desbillots, ou encore nichés dans des blessures detronc, au milieu de chênaies saines... Je ne pensepas qu’il y aurait de risque de voir tout unverger anéanti par leur introduction surquelques spécimens.

deuxcélèbres champignons lignicoles qui parasitentle tronc des chênes, le polypore soufré(laetiporus sulfureus) et le pied-de-griffon(grifola frondosa).

bolet à pied variable (boletus variipes).Les plus habiles cueilleurs de champignons nepeuvent que très rarement le savourer enquantité satisfaisante dans un même plat, toutau plus en trouvent-ils un spécimen par-ci par-là, et ils le mêlent à d’autres bolets moinssavoureux pour faire bonne mesure... Il estresté, depuis un bon demi-siècle, au niveau du

Encore en jonction avec les chênes, il y auraitmoyen de cultiver le mythique hygrophorerussule (hygrophorus russula).