Characteristics and fatty acid composition of the oil of Aspillia (latifolia) africana Oliv. et Hiern

Abstract

Fatty acids in oil extracted from the seeds of Aspillia africana a weed related to sunflower found in Nigeria were myristic 1.8, myristoleic 1.4, palmitic 6.3, palmitoleic 0.4, oleic 26.0, linoleic 61.0, linolenic 1.6, arachidic 0.3, arachidonic 0.5 and docosenoic acid 0.7%. Lipid fractions contained free fatty acids, phospholipids, cholesterol, glycosides and hydrocarbons. The potential use of the oil, in view of the high linoleic acid content and high iodine value (159), in human nutrition is discussed.