Physicochemical characterization and fatty acids composition of four indigenous plant oils

Edible oils from Canarium schweinfurthii pulp, Balanites aegyptiaca seeds, Sesamum indicum seeds, and Cocos nucifera nuts were assessed for their physicochemical properties and fatty acids profiles using standard methods and GC-MS respectively. The physicochemical properties of the oils were as follows: 1.021 ± 0.36-1.029 ± 0.66 Kg/m3 for relative density, 140.25 ± 5.61-155.68 ± 1.34 mg KOH/g for saponification value, 1.45 ± 0.08-1.47 ± 0.35 for refractive index, 7.00 ±0.36-19.00 ± 1.64 mEq/kg for peroxide value, 0.75 ± 0.84-2.72 ± 1.26 mg KOH/g for acid value, and 39.97 ± 0.07-96.44 ± 2.53 mg I2/g for iodine value. The fatty acids composition revealed that C. schweinfurthii pulp, B. aegyptiaca seed, S. indicum seed, and C. nucifera nut oils contain 80.92%, 66.44%, 68.32%, and 24% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), 7.89%, 18.44%, 21.84% and 6.50% of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 11.18%, 15.15%, 10.19% and 69.49% of saturated fatty acids respectively. The results illustrated the abundance of unsaturated fatty acids compounds in C. schweinfurthii pulp, B. aegyptiaca seed, and S. indicum seed oils while C. nucifera nut oil contained more saturated fatty acid compounds. A good number of fatty acids have skin permeation potentiality, and this is derived from their chemical structure, these oils show great multiplicity in their fatty acids’ composition depending on the plant species, and upon further processing can be employed for diverse industrial and pharmaceutical applications.