ISSN 2169-3048
International Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology ISSN: 2169-3048 Vol. 2 (2), pp. 273-275, February, 2012. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
The Physiochemical properties and fatty acid profile of oil extracted from Irvingia gabonensis seeds
Omeh Yusuf S.1, Ezeja Maxwell I.2 and Ugwudike Patrick O.3
1Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural and Applied Science, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria.
2Department of Veterinary physiology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria.
3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 08036766169, 08040206144
Received 07 October, 2012; Accepted 15 February, 2013
Abstract
The physiochemical and fatty cid profile of the oil extracted from Irvingia gabonensis was determined. Soxhlet extraction method using n-hexane as solvent was employed for the extraction. The extraction process yielded 65% of oil. The physiochemical determination was done using standard method while fatty acid profile was done using Gas Chromatographic technique. The result of the study is as follows: Relative density (0.82), pH (6.19), Saponification value (182.3 mgKOH-1), Iodine value (4.17/100 g Fat), Peroxide value (3.02 mgEqKg-1). The fatty acid profile of the oil revealed the presence of six fatty acid fractions viz: C14:O(51.85%), C12:O(35.12%), C16:7.95%), C10:O(1.01%), C18:0(0.62%) and C18:1(2.99%).The overall result revealed that the oil is highly unsaturated and thus should not be consumed in high quantity by cardiovascular patients.
Key words: Physiochemical, fatty acid, Irvingia gabonensis, chromatographic technique.