Chemical Characteristics and Fatty acid Composition of Cucurbitaceae Oils fron Cameroon

Abstract

This work analyses the acid, saponification, iodine and peroxide indices, and the fatty acid composition of five Cucurbitaceae (egusi) seed oils from different regions in Cameroon. These seeds are Cucumeropsis mannii (egusi melon), Cucurbita maxima (pumpkin), Cucurbita moschata (musk melon), Lagenaria siceraria (calabash) and Cucumis sativus ("Ibo"egusi). The results show that the saponification, iodine and peroxide indices are influenced by the regions while the acid index and percentage of impurity do not depend on the region of cultivation but on the specie. The values for the indices are as follows: The acid index ranges from 3 -10; iodine, 83 -114; saponification, 204 -231 and peroxide, 3 -8m.equiv.g of O 2 /g of oil. These values are within recommended levels for edible oils. These oils have 4 main fatty acids: Palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acid, the most abundant being linoleic acid (48-69.13%). The fatty acid profile is C18:2 > C18:1 > C18:0 in all the samples, irrespective of the origin. Their chemical properties are similar to those of corn, cottonseed, sesame and sunflower seed oils. These results suggest that they can be good for table, cooking and frying oils and for making mayonnaise. The high linoleic acid level makes them good oils for the fight against cardiovascular illnesses.