Characterization of Linum usitatissimumL. used in Tunisia as food crop

This paper deals with the analysis of seed and seed oil of Linum usitatissimumof Tunisian origin in terms of physicochemical properties, fatty acid, sterol and triacylglycerol compositions, thermal characteristics UV/Vis, DSC profile, IR and NMR spectroscopic analysis. Some of these properties were compared to those of linseed and linseed oil from other countries. The contents of moisture, ash, protein, and carbohydrates in the seeds were 3.60, 3.17, 14 and 48.16%, respectively. The physicochemical properties of LOT included: acid value (0.9 mg KOH/g of oil), iodine value (142.12 g/100 g of oil), peroxide value (3.5 meqO2/kg) and saponification number (200.5). Linolenic acid (58.59%), oleic acid (16.67%), linoleic acid (15.50%) and palmitic acid (5.44%) were the major fatty acids in LOT. The dominant polyunsaturated triacylglycerols found in LOT are LnLnLn, LnLLn, LnOLn, LnLnP (Ln: Linolenic; L: Linoleic; O: Oleic and P: Palmitic acids). The main sterol found in LOT was β-sitosterol (51.31%). The DSC melting curve reveals that the melting point of LOT is −32.96 °C and the melting enthalpy is 22.79 J/g. This study has shown that L. usitatissimumseed and seed oil from Tunisia is useful in different fields such as nutrition, cosmetic by its richness in linoleic acid (ω-3) and paint products due to its rapid drying as well as pharmaceutical area.