Assessment of Oil Extracted from Pterygota alata Seeds

Abstract

The chemical properties of oil extracted from the seeds of Pterygota alata were investigated by established methods. The seed oil was analyzed for acid value, saponification value and iodine value. Oil was extracted from the seeds by solvent extraction process using Petroleum Ether (40- 60⁰C) as solvent. Amount of oil extracted from the seeds was 42.27% (±0.02) which indicates a very high yield percentage. The properties of the oil extracted from Pterygota alata seeds were observed as acid value 0.39 (±0.03) mg KOH/g, iodine value of 0.955 (± 0.036), and saponification value of 207.84 (±1.05) mg KOH/g. The oil may not be suitable for consumption as the iodine value is low which reflects a high degree of saturation. However, the high saponification value and low iodine value indicated that the oil could be a potential raw material for soap processing. The low acid value is a good indication to stability towards hydrolysis during storage and processing of the oil.