Comparative assessment of some physico-chemical properties of seed oils of Parkia biglobosa and Monodora myristica with some commercial oils

Abstract

The demand for oils has increased in recent times as a result of industrial and nutritional processes. There is therefore the need to search for oils from different types of seeds. As part of an on-going work to search for alternate sources of oils, seed oils from Monodora myristica and Parkia biglobosa were extracted, analysed and some of their physicochemical properties were compared with those of vegetable and palm oils. The results show that seed oils of M. myristcia and P. biglobosa have some physicochemical properties comparable with those of the commercial oils and hence have great nutritional and industrial potentials. It is therefore recommended that more studies be undertaken for this abundant source of natural nutritious oil.

Physicochemical Properties of Essential oils of Ginger (<em>Zingiber officinale</em>), African Nutmeg (<em>Monodora myristica</em>) and Ashanti Black Pepper (<em>Piper guineense</em>)

“…The specific gravity of all the oils were <1, this implies water is heavier than the oils. The specific gravity of the oils obtained in this study were lower than 1.05 for Z. officinale, 0.96 for M myristica and 0.91 for P. guineense reported by Ifesan et al (2010), Adolf et al (2018) and Ogbonna et al (2015) respectively. However, they were within the specific gravity values range of 0.82-0.92 reported by Akubugwo and Ugbogu (2007).…”

“…The results of the refractive index recorded of the essential oils for the samples were slightly higher than the value of 1.46 obtained for B. sapida oil (Akintayo et al, 2002) but comparable with the values for most drying oils whose refractive index are between 1.48 and 1.49 (Oluba et al, 2008). When oils have high number of carbon-atoms in their fatty acids, it indicates the refractive index is high (Adolf et al, 2018). As the double bond increases, the refractive index also increases leading to high degree of unsaturation (Adolf et al, 2018).…”

“…When oils have high number of carbon-atoms in their fatty acids, it indicates the refractive index is high (Adolf et al, 2018). As the double bond increases, the refractive index also increases leading to high degree of unsaturation (Adolf et al, 2018).…”

“…Quality, freshness and distinctiveness of the oil are main concerns that affect the value of essential oils (Shahidi and Zhong, 2005). Due to the nutritional values of oils and importance for industrial purposes, the use and demand of oils have increased resulting in their exploration from plants (Adolf et al, 2018). Thus, the importance of physicochemical characteristics of these oils is of utmost importance in our daily life's.…”

Formulation of Lubricant from Calabash Seed Oil

“…The use of vegetable oils for the production of environmentally acceptable engine oils is a promising development in addressing the drawbacks associated with the use of conventional mineral oils, the complex methods employed in the formulation of synthetic engine oils, and additionally, economic relevance in the local communities where vegetable oil crops are grown and processed [3][4][5][13][14][15].…”