Biochemical Properties and Nutritional Value of Balanites Aegyptiaca (Laloub) Seed Oil

Balanites aegyptiaca is used for firewood, charcoal, poles, timber, utensils, tool handle, food, fodder, mulch, shade, wind break and gum. The plant may be grown for its fiber, oil and for medicinal values; it is also used in treatment of several diseases and disorders since ages. Balanites aegyptiaca seed kernel oil falls in the group of such oils termed as vegetable oils since it is extracted from a plant source. The chief importance of vegetable oils lies in their food value.

The seed kernel is considered as an extremely useful edible product, it is rich in oil, protein, minerals and it has been reported to be used for over thousands of years. (Vonmaydell, H.J. (1986)) [1] Oils are heterogeneous biochemical substances which have in common, the property of being soluble in most organic polar solvents (chloroform, benzene, diethyl ether, etc.) and insoluble in water. The term lipid is the scientific name for fatty acids and similar chemicals often found in oils produced by living things. They may contain diethyl-glycerol, free fatty acids, phosphatides, sterols and fat-soluble vitamins like tocopherol, pigments, waxes and fatty alcohol are present but as minor components [2].

Oils are heterogeneous biochemical substances which have in common, the property of being soluble in most organic polar solvents (chloroform, benzene, diethyl ether, etc.) and insoluble in water. The term lipid is the scientific name for fatty acids and similar chemicals often found in oils produced by living things. They may contain diethyl-glycerol, free fatty acids, phosphatides, sterols and fat-soluble vitamins like tocopherol, pigments, waxes and fatty alcohol are present but as minor components. Oils may be sourced from animal, vegetables or petrochemical. All oils and fats are made up of a mixture of these triglycerides

Soaps are compounds that consist of long chain of hydrocarbons attached with a carboxylic acid which is ironically bonded to the metal ion usually sodium or potassium, it is a combination of animal fat or plant oil with caustic soda. Soaps are therefore called the salts of fatty acids which are usually used as surfactants for washing, bathing and cleaning. Soaps are obtained by the treatment of vegetable oils or animal fats with a strong alkaline solution. The three molecules of fatty acids in the triglyceride gets attached to a single molecule of glycerol and results in a chemical reaction termed saponification.

The extracted oil is used for many uses and it is used in Western Sudan remaining cake is used as animal feed. Both fruits and seed were widely used in many countries during the dry season and drought periods including Nigeria (Lockett et al., 2000), Ethiopia, (Guinand and Lemessa, 2001) [3] and Sudan (Grosskinsky and Gullick, 2001). The need for vegetable oil is rising worldwide so it has to be to look for good sources for the production of high-quality oil can be exploited for industrial purposes This study was conducted on the physical and chemical properties of Balantiesaegyptiaca(laloub)seed oil as a good source for the production of oil. Species Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile – desert date (Saed A. Al-Thobaiti and Isam M. Abu Zeid, 2018) [4].

Two kilograms of Balanitesaegyptiacafruit were purchased from local market in Omdurman, Sudan. Fruits were then crushed using a steel hammer and seeds were then obtained. One kilogram of seeds was collected and was then ground using grinding machine ground seeds was then eventually ready for further analysis.

Chemical composition of B. aegyptiaca seed

Table (1) shows the chemical composition of Balanites aegyptiaca seed. Moisture, fat, protein, fiber, ash and total carbohydrate contents were found to be 3.27, 41.9, 30.9, 11.34, 3.55, and 8.9% respectively moisture content was found to be 3.27% which is similar with that reported by Mohammed .s. (2005) [5]. fat content was noticed to be 3.10%.but it was higher than reported Mohammed .S. Protein content was found to be 30.9% which is lower than the 31.09% reported by Mohammed S. (2005). Fiber content was 11.34% which is lower than the 12.64% reported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5]. Ash content was noticed to be 3.55% which is higher than the 3.19% reported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5]. Total carbohydrate content was recorded to be 8.9 % which is higher than the 3.05% reported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5] (Table 1).

Table 1:Chemical composition of B. eagyptiaca seed.

Physical properties of B.aegyptiaca oil

Table (2) shows that the physical properties of Balanites aegyptiaca oil. The viscosity, density, refractive index and color were found to be 42.71, 0.90913 ,1.4734 and (red 5.1, yellow 35.5, blue 0.00) respectively.

Viscosity was recorded to be 42.71 which were higher than the 19.63 and 34cpreported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5], Babagana et.al (2010), respectively. Density was noticed to be 0.9091 which its similar to 0.9109 reported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5]. Refractive index was found to be 1.473 which is similar to 1.483 that reported by Mohammed S. (2005) [5] (Table 2).

Table 2:Physical properties of B.eagyptiaca oil.

Chemical properties of B.aegyptiaca oil:

Table (3) shows that the chemical properties of Balanitesaegyptiacaoil the free fatty acid , peroxide value, saponification , iodine value , un-saponification ,and acid value were found to be 0.26, 3.08, 194.33, 98.09, 3.08, and 0.53 respectively. Free fatty acid was found to be 0.26% which was lower than the 2.8 and 1.84% reported by both Babagana et.al (2011) [6] and Manj (2013) [7] respectively. Peroxidevalue was noticed to be 3.08(mgKO) which lower than the 6.0 and 8.0 reported by Manji(2013) [7] and Babeker (2013) [8] respectively.Saponification was reported to be194.33 (mgKOH/g) which was higher than the168.80, 174.5, 168.3 and 182.80 (mgKOH/g) reported by Manji (2013), Babagana gutti (2011) [6], Babeker (2013) [8] and Okia (2013) respectively. Iodine was found to be 98.09 mg I2/g which higher than the 76.8, 56.4 and lower than 98.28 mg I2/g reported by Manji (2013) [7], Babaganagutti (2011) [6-15] and Okia (2013) respectively. Acid value was noticed to be 0.53(mgKOH/g) which is similar to reported by Okia (2013) but its lower than the 2.08 (mgKOH/g) reported by Babeker [15-22]. Un-saponification was found to be 3.08 (Table 3) [23-29].

Table 3:Physical properties of B.eagyptiaca oil.

The results obtained from the preliminary investigation carried out in this work revealed that B.eagyptiaca seed oil is an economically viable oil source because its oil content was found to be high. Also, the oil parameters showed that the oil was composed of moderately long chain fatty acids with a degree of unsaturation, making it a good feedstock for domestic and industrial purposes [23-29].

None.

No conflict of interest.

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