Chemical composition of oil from Tetracarpidium conophorum ((Mull. Arg.) Hutch. and Dalz.) nuts

Abstract

Tetracarpidium conophorum is known in the littoral and the western Cameroon as kaso or ngak and serves as an edible nut eaten between meals. The physicochemical characteristics, the fatty acids and the triacylglycerols (TG) of T. conophorum nut oil (Type I and Type 2) from the southern continental low lands were studied. The oil content varied between 55.75 and 61.62%. The iodine value (180-182), saponification value (175-176) and nitrogen (8.08-8.78) were similar. Ashes varied between 8.40 and 9.68%. The main fatty acid of the golden yellow was linolenic acid (69.47-70.39%) as determined by capillary gas chromatographic analysis. The triacylglycerol profil obtained by reversed phase liquid chromatography showed 10 TG with three major ones identified as trilinoleni (LnLnLn) (33.39-47.67%), dilinolenic-linoleic (LnLnL) (12.19-27.15%), and dilinolenic-olein (LnLnO) (18.46-37.71%).