STUDIES ON MINOR SEED OILS XII

Abstract

Physico-chemical analysis of seven seeds of indigenous species of plants belonging to six different botanical families have been carried out with the help of UV, IR, TLC-GLC techniques. All the seed oils were found in agreement with the simple fatty acid composition i.e. linoleic-oleic-palmitic type. The chief components among unsaturated acids in the six seed oils are oleic and linoleic acids together forming 40.0-86.0 %. Polygonum sp. surprisingly is found to have combined content of oleic and linoleic acid 13.3 % only but having unexpected high amount of linolenic acid (37.8 %). Among saturated acids, palmitic acid was predominant acid found in the range of 10.0-483 %. This chemical screening of seed oils reveals that the species producing highly unsaturated oils merit attention for utilization as minor seed oils.