Quantity and Quality Evaluation of Girardinia Diversifolia and Girardinia Bullosa Seed Oil

Abstract

Kenya imports more than 65% of its edible oil requirements. This is due to low oil production and limited sources that cannot adequately meet the high demand by the ever-increasing population. This study aimed to determine the fatty acid profile and assess the quantity and quality of Girardinia diversifolia and Girardinia bullosa seed oil. Its quality was assessed in terms of iodine value (IV), saponification value (SV), acid value(AV), peroxide value(PV), unsaponifiable matter, refractive index (RI), specific gravity(SG) and moisture content and volatile matter. The percentage oil content (18.4 to 21.2/100g dry) was low relative to most common edible oil plants. The highest moisture content recorded was 39.60 with the lowest being 31.24g/ 100g air-dried seeds. The RI ranged from 1.4662-1.4704. The IV ranged from 166-192. The PV was in the range of 8.68 to 13.6. The SV (164-179) was comparable to that of corn oil (187-147). The AV varied from 4.58-7.22. The percent unsaponifiable matter of the oil varied from 2.14-4.10. The fatty acids detected in the oil were decanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, 9-octadecaenoic acid, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, eicosanoic acid and heneicosanoic acid. The results showed that Girardinia oil is stable in the first two hours of heating. The results indicated that the oil had a high content of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids, and this guarantees the possibility of using the oil in the food industry.