Chemical Properties of Some Cucurbitaceae Oils from Cameroon


Authors

  • E. Fokou Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Cameroon
  • M.B. Achu Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Cameroon
  • G. Kansci Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Cameroon
  • R. Ponka Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Cameroon
  • M. Fotso Centre for Research in Food and Nutrition, IMPM, Yaounde, Cameroon
  • C. Tchiegang Department of Food Science and Nutrition, ENSAI/IUT, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
  • F.M. Tchouanguep Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Cameroon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2009.1325.1334

Keywords:

Cucurbitaceae, fatty acids, indices, iodine, lipids, oils, peroxide, saponification

Abstract

This work presents some chemical properties of Cucurbitaceae seed oils from different areas in Cameroon. These seeds are Cucumeropsis mannii (egusi melon), Cucurbita maxima (pumpkin or squash gourd), Cucurbita moschata (musk melón), Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd or calabash) and Cucumis sativus (“Ibo”egusi). The results show that the saponification, iodine and peroxide indices are influenced by the areas while the acid index and percentage of impurity do not depend on the area of cultivation but on the specie, except Lagenaria siceraria. The values for the indices are within recommended levels for edible oils. These oils have 4 main fatty acids: Linoleic acid, C18:2 (49-69%); oleic acid, C18:1 (9-25%); stearic acid, C18:O (7-11%) and palmitic acid, C16:O (10-19%). Their chemical properties are similar to those of corn, cottonseed, sesame and sunflower seed oils, suggesting their potential use as good table and cooking oils which can increase HDL and reduce serum cholesterol and LDL levels, hence could help prevent cardiovascular illnesses. They could also be used for making mayonnaise and soap.

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Published

15.08.2009

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 9 (2009)

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2009 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

How to Cite

Fokou, E., Achu, M., Kansci, G., Ponka, R., Fotso, M., Tchiegang, C., & Tchouanguep, F. (2009). Chemical Properties of Some Cucurbitaceae Oils from Cameroon. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 8(9), 1325–1334. https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2009.1325.1334