305. The seed and fruit-coat fats of Neolitsea involucrata

Abstract

The seed fat of Neolitsea involucrata, like those of several other tropical shrubs belonging to the family Lauraceae, is unusually rich in combined lauric acid and, consequently, trilaurin. Its component acids were found to be: n-decoic 3, lauric 86, myristic 4, oleic 4, and linoleic 3% (by weight); it contained 87% of fully-saturated glycerides (including about 66% of trilaurin). The glyceride structure of the fat follows the usual rule of "even distribution," i. e., maximum formation of mixed, in preference to simple, triglycerides. The fruit-coat fat, on the other hand, is typical in containing oleic and palmitic acids as major components. The component acids were found to be: lauric 10, palmitic 28, stearic 3, hexadecenoic 5, oleic 44, and linoleic 10% (by weight). Although the kernel fat is an excellent source of either lauric acid or trilaurin, the yields of either of these obtainable from the fat in the whole fruit (i.e., without "depericarping"-a difficult process in this case) would be reduced by about 20-25%.