Chemical Examination of the Seeds of Mercuna pruriens Hook.

Abstract

The seeds of Mercuna Pruriens, a twining shrub belonging to the family Papilionacea, have been examined mainly for its fatty oil. The seeds yielded to petrol ether 5.9% of oil, which have been shown to consist of stearic, palmitic, linolic and oleic acids. The ash obtained from the seeds (3.04%) was found to contain phosphorus (34.2% as P2O5), sulphur (16% as SO3) and manganese (0.56%).