LIPID PROFILE AND FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION OF MOTH BEAN (VIGNA ACONITEFOLIA) SEEDS

Abstract

The seeds of moth bean (Vigna aconitefolia) were found to contain 4.5 % of lipid. Fractionation of this lipid by silicic acid column chromatography yielded 44.5 % neutral lipids (NL), 23.4 % glycolipids (GL) and 32.1 % phospholipids (PL). Fatty acid composition of the total lipid and lipid fractions showed that palmitic acid (37.3-54.7 %), stearic acid (7.8-8.0%) oleic acid (6.8-13.9 %) linoleic acid (23.1-35.6 %) and linolenic acid (3.0-10.0%) are the major fatty acids. The phospholipid fraction was found to be different from the rest in containing higher palmitic acid (54.7%) and lower unsaturated fatty acids.