COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF OILS EXTRACTED BY TRADITIONAL AND HEXANE METHODS FROM TERMINALIA CATAPPA L. KERNELS

Abstract

The comparative study of physico-chemical characteristics of Terminalia catappa L. kernel oils extracted by two methods has been done. The oil yields were 28.13 % and 61.78 % respectively for traditional and hexane methods and the fatty acid profiles showed palmitic acid (40.79 % and 40.03 % respectively) oleic acid (25.55 % and 26.09 % respectively), linoleic acid (26.72 % and 26.64 % respectively) and stearic acid (4.35 % and 4.49 % respectively) as major components. The oils extracted by the two ways showed similar physico-chemical properties, good calorific values and non-toxicity against Artemia salina L. Oil obtained by traditional method exhibited more antioxidant capacity (1.40) than the hexane one (0.15). This traditional method helps to extract 45 % of the total oil. It gives oil free of organic solvent, with good physico-chemical properties that could be useful as edible oil and for industrial applications.