Composition and Characteristics of Cleome icosandra L. Seed Oil

Abstract

Cleome icosandra grows wild in abundance all over India. The seeds contain 26% of oil. The iodine value of the fresh and the stored oils was found to be 125–126 and saponification value as 205. The oil contains only a small amount of saturated acids (21–22%), viz. myristic (1–1.2%), palmitic (13–14%) and stearic [6–7%] and high amounts of unsaturated acids, viz. oleic (12–14%), linoleic (65–66%). Due to the high linoleic content the oil polymerises during storage. The degree of polymerisation is higher with the oil extracted from stored seeds which was kept over a period of three months than the oil obtained from fresh seeds under identical conditions. The short crop period, ease of collection of seeds from forest areas and the desirable tendency of polymerisation suggest the exploitation of this oil for industrial use.