Submit Manuscript

Journal of Biological Sciences

Year: 2008 | Volume: 8 | Issue: 4 | Page No.: 814-817
Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit Linkedin StumbleUpon E-mail

Article Trend

Total views 454

Authors

O.M. Oluba

Y.R. Ogunlowo

G.C. Ojieh

K.E. Adebisi

G.O. Eidangbe

I.O. Isiosio

Keywords

In this study, the physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of Citrullus lanatus (egusi melon) were investigated. Oil from the seeds of Citrullus lanatus (egusi melon) was extracted with petroleum ether as solvent. The ether extract was evaluated for its specific gravity, refractive index, acid, iodine, peroxide and saponification values. The fatty acid profile analysis of the oil was also carried out by Gas Liquid Chromatography. The oil has a specific gravity of 0.93 and refractive index of 1.45 indicating that the oil is less thick compared to most drying oils with refractive indices between 1.48 and 1.49. Its acid, iodine, peroxide and saponification values were 3.5 ±0.3, 110 ±8.2, 8.3 ±4.6 and 192 ±43.7, respectively. These values are within recommended range for edible oils. The oil has four main fatty acids: palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids, linoleic acid being the most abundant. The fatty acid content of the oil showed that 71.9% is unsaturated. These results indicate that egusi melon oil could be a good source of table oil. Its high content of linoleic acid is of particular interest especially in the fight against atherosclerosis.
PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *