Studies on castor oil. I. Fatty acid composition of castor oil

Summary Methyl esters of castor oil were prepared by saponifying the oil with potassium hydroxide in methanol, splitting the potassium soapsin situ with an excess of hydrochloric acid, and esterifying at room temperature. The esters had hydroxyl values comparable with those of the parent oils. The methyl esters were quantitatively resolved into hydroxy and nonhydroxy esters after reacting with succinic anhydride in toluene. The composition of castor oil was calculated from a) amount of nonhydroxy esters, b) methyl linoleate content of methyl esters determined spectro-photometrically, c) iodine value of the methyl esters determined by the Wijs method at 15–20°C., and d) iodine value of the nonhydroxy esters determined by the Woburn method. This composition was confirmed by the estimation of saturated acids in one sample and dihydroxystearic acid in all. Castor oil was readly hydrogenated with Raney nickel in alcohol at room temperature (30–33°C.) without any hydrogenolysis of the hydroxyl groups. Methyl dihydroxystearate content of the methyl esters of this hydrogenated oil was determined by reaction with 80–100% excess periodic acid at 15–20°C. Part of a thesis submitted for the Ph.D. degree to the University of Bombay.     

Fatty acid composition ofcuphea seed oils

Nineteen species of 10 taxonomic sections ofCuphea were analyzed for fatty acid composition of the seed oils. Two sections of the genus,Trispermum andPseudocircaea, previously unreported, are included. Lauric acid is the major component of the seed oil in seven of the species surveyed; capric andmyristic each predominate in five. Linolenic acid, previously thought to be only a trace component ofCuphea seed oils, is the major constituent of two species. Two others are rich in linoleic acid, another minor component of mostCupbea oils.     

Fatty acid composition ofThalictrum L. seed oils

The fatty acid composition of five representatives of theThalictrum L. genus of the plant familyRanunculaceae has been investigated. The fatty acids include mainly acids with double bonds in thetrans-5 position (about 60%). Although the main component of the fatty acids is a triene acid (trans-5,cis-9,cis-12-octadecatrienoic acid), the oils investigated are semidrying.     

Fatty acid composition of Iranian citrus seed oils

Fatty acid compositions of seed oils from eight Iranian citrus fruits were determined. The ranges of values for major fatty acids were 21.8–29.4% palmitic, 3.1–7.60% stearic, 0.3–1.3% palmitoleic, 23.5–32.3% oleic, 33.5–39.8% linoleic, and 3.1–7.6% linolenic. Low amounts (up to 0.1%) of myristic and arachidic acids and traces of a few unidentified ones constituted minor fatty acids.     

Fatty acid composition of castor oil by Gas-Liquid chromatography

Acetylation of fatty acid methyl esters from castor oil makes possible accurate determination of all components in a single run by gas-liquid chromatography with butanediol succinate as the stationary phase.     

Fatty acid composition of some pine seed oils

The fatty acid composition of seeds from seven species of the genusPinus (P. pinaster, P. griffithii, P. pinea, P. koraiensis, P. sylvestris, P. mughus, andP. nigra) was established. Pine seeds are rich in oil (31–68% by weight) and contain several unusual polymethylene-interrupted unsaturated fatty acids with acis-5 ethylenic bond. These are thecis-5,cis-9 18:2,cis-5,cis-9,cis-12 18:3,cis-5,cis-11 20:2, andcis-5,cis-11,cis-14 20:3 acids, with a trace ofcis-5,cis-9,cis-12,cis-15 18:4 acid. Their percentage relative to total fatty acids varies from a low of 3.1% (P. pinea) to a high of 30.3% (P. sylvestris), depending on the species. The majorcis-5 double bond-containing acid is generally thecis-5,cis-9,cis-12 18:3 acid (pinolenic acid). In all species, linoleic acid represents approximately one-half the total fatty acids, whereas the content of oleic acid varies in the range 14–36% inversely to the sum of fatty acids containing acis-5 ethylenic bond. The easily available seeds fromP. koraiensis appear to be a good source of pinolenic acid: their oil content isca. 65%, and pinolenic represents about 15% of total fatty acids. These values appear to be rather constant.Pinus pinaster, which is grown on several thousand acres in the southwest of France, is an interesting source ofcis-5,cis-11,cis-14 20:3 acid (7% in the oil, which isca. 35% of the dehulled seed weight), an acid sharing in common three double bonds with arachidonic acid. Apparently,P. sylvestris seed oil contains the highest level ofcis-5 double bond-containing acids among pine seed oils that have ever been analyzed.     

Chromatographic analysis of seed oils. II. fatty acid composition of dimorphotheca oil

The fatty acid composition ofDimorphotheca sinuata seed oil was determined by use of column and gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), and UV, IE, and nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) spectroscopy. The presence of a small amount of epoxy esters was confirmed by n.m.r. spectroscopy in conjunction with GLC and TLC. The presence of ca. 2.5% of 9-keto-trans,trans- 10,12-octadeca-dienoic acid, previously unrecognized as a constituent of dimorphotheca oil, was established. The estimated fatty acid composition of dimorphotheca oil is 66.5% dimorphecolic, 14% linoleic, 10% oleic, 4.5% palmitic and stearic, and 5% miscellaneous acids.     

Fatty acid composition in seed oils of some onagraceae

The seeds ofOenothera picensis, O. indecora, Ludwigia longifolia andL. peruviana (Onagraceae) contained 18.3, 16.4, 13.9 and 10.1% oil, respectively. Chromatographic analyses showed high levels of linoleic acid (>71.5%) in the seed oils.     

Fatty acid composition inCuphea seed oils from brazil and nicaragua

Seed oils ofCuphea are characterized by a diverse assemblage of fatty acid patterns emphasizing short- and medium-chain fatty acids. For this report, seed oils of 19 populations from 14 species were analyzed. Thirteen species are from Brazil and one from Nicaragua. Fatty acid compositions of oils of eight species are reported for the first time. Lauric acid predominates in 10 species, myristic acid in one, and linoleic acid in three. Small amounts of C20:0 and C20:1 are recorded in one species. The major fatty acid for each taxonomic section is consistent with that reported earlier as characteristic of the section. Seed oil compositions of species previously reported from North or Central American populations are comparable to those of the Brazilian populations.     

Fatty acid composition of melon seed oil lipids and phospholipids

Fatty acid compositions of crude melon seed oil from two different sources were compared. Melon seeds fromCitrullus vulgaris (syn.C. lanatus) contained phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and phosphatidylserine (PS), whereas melon seeds fromCitrullus colocynthis contained only PC and LPC, but not PS. Analysis of the total lipids revealed that the major fatty acid of the oils was 18:2n-6.Citrullus vulgaris seed oil contained 71.3% andC. colocynthis contained 63.4% of 18:2n-6. The predominant fatty acids in theC. vulgaris PC were 18:2n-6 (32.2%), 18:1n-9 (26.4%) and 16:0 (22.2%), whereas theC. colocynthis PC contained 44.6% of 18:1n-9 as the major fatty acid. The level of monoenes in theC. colocynthis variety (46.2%) was different from theC. vulgaris (27.3%). The major fatty acid in the LPC was 18:1n-9 for both varieties. Notably, theC. colocynthis variety did not contain any PS. The major fatty acids in theC. vulgaris PS were 18:1n-9 (37.9%) and 18:2n-6 (33.7%). Of all the phospholipids, LPC contained the greatest amount of monoenes, 48.6–52.4%.     

Fatty acid composition of seed oil triglycerides inCoincya (Brassicaceae)

Oil and triglyceride contents and fatty acid composition were determined for seeds in nine taxa belonging to the genusCoincya (Brassicaceae) on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The oil content ranges from 11.1 to 24.6%, triglycerides from 68.7 to 88.5%. The major fatty acids were erucic (24.6–30.5%), linolenic (17.7–27.7%), linoleic (13.9–24.6%) and oleic acid (12.3–21.8%).     

Fatty acid composition of buckwheat seed

The embryo, endosperm, testa and pericarp from seeds of three buckwheat species were analyzed for total lipid content and fatty acid composition. The average lipid content of these tissues was 8.2%, 0.4%, 2.0% and 0.5%, respectively. Eighteen fatty acids were tentatively identified in buckwheat oil. The following eight constituted an average of more than 93% of the total acids: palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, arachidic, behenic and lignoceric acids. The embryo tissue of cultivated and Tartary buckwheats contained the fewest minor acids with an average of 95% of the acids containing either 16 or 18 carbons. The pericarp, or hull, had a unique composition with higher levels of saturated acids, odd carbon acids and acids of 20 or more carbons than any other tissues. The compositions of the testa and endorsperm were intermediate.     

Fatty acid composition of seed oils of the meliaceae,including one genus rich incis-vaccenic acid

The seed lipids of three species ofEntandraphragma (Meliaceae) contain the largest proportion (31–50%) ofcis-vaccenic acid ever found in nature. The acid is not indicative of the family as a whole and is found as a major fatty acid in the seed of only one additional species, besidesEntandraphragma, out of the 30 analyzed from this family. With the total oil comprising between 45 and 62% ofEntandraphragma seed, these species should be considered as a source of undecadioic acid for the production of nylon 11.     

Fatty acid composition of seed oils of some members of the meliaceae and combretaceae families

Seed oils of some members of the Meliceae (six) and Combretaceae (three) were analyzed for their fatty acid composition. In oils of members of both families palmitic acid was the most abundant saturated acid. Trace amounts of short chain (C12–C14) and long chain (C20–C22) saturated acids were detected in some members of the two families. Oleic acid was the most abundant unsaturated acids in the oils of four members of the Meliaceae. However, in the oils ofCedrella odorata andLovoa trichilloides, dienoic acid (C18:2) was the major unsaturated acid. Strikingly high levels of trienoic (C18:3) and monoenoic (C16:1) acids were detected in the seed oils ofC. odorata andEnthandrophragma angolense, respectively. Oleic acid also was the most abundant unsaturated acid in the Combretaceae. The nutritional value and industrial potentials of these oils are given.     

Fatty acid composition of seed kernel oil of calodendrum capense (l.f.) thunb.

Seed kernels ofCalodendrum capense (L.f.) Thunb. yielded 60% of a light yellow oil which had the following fatty acid composition: 23.8% palmitic, 4.5% stearic, 33.7% oleic, 35.6% linoleic, 1.4% linolenic and 1.0% arachidic. Myristic and behenic acids were present in trace amounts, and the kernel cake contained 37.6% crude protein.     

Characteristics and composition of newer varieties of indian castor seed and oil

Seventeen newer varieties of castor seed grown in different parts of India and the oils extracted therefrom were analyzed. The seed characteristics varied as follows: 100-seed weight, 15.2–30.2 g; 100-seed volume, 15.0–32.5 ml; kernel, 64–75%; oil, 46.0–51.8%; protein, 17.1–24.4%; crude fiber, 18.2–26.5%, and ash, 2.1–3.4%. Oil characteristics were: acid value, 1.0–2.9; saponification value, 176.2–183.7; iodine value, 81.4–88.1, and hydroxyl value, 159.2–167.1. Ricinoleic acid content varied from 87.4% to 90.4%.     

Fatty acid composition of tamarind kernel oil

The fatty acid composition (% by wt) of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) kernel oil, as determined by gas liquid chromatography was: trace lauric acid, tracte myristic acid, 14.8% palmitic acid, 5.9% stearic acid, 27.0% oleic acid, 7.5% linoleic acid, 5.6% linolenic acid, 4.5% arachidic acid, 12.2% behenic acid, and 22.3% lignoceric acid.