Studies on Allamanda cathartica Seed Oil: A Novel Source of Plant Oil Substitute for Industrial Processing

Oil from Allamanda cathartica seed was extracted using n-hexane as solvent in soxhlet extractor. The physicochemical and antioxidants properties of the oil were carried out using standard analytical methods. The fatty acid attributes of the extracted seed oil were determined by Gas Liquid Chromatographic (GLC) method. The results of the physicochemical properties gave the followings: Specific gravity (0.87±0.04 g/cm3), refractive index (1.46±0.02 at 30°C), viscosity (53.12±0.08 mpal/sec), acid value (69.17±0.12 mg/g), peroxide value (1.86±0.02 meg O2/kg), saponification value (81.59±0.18 mg/g), iodine value (41.78±0.04 mg/100 g) and unsaponifiable matter (1.61±0.02%). The antioxidant analysis gave 2,2diphenyl picryl-1-hydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (DPPH) as (62.13±0.13%), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (0.63±0.01%) and phenols (0.63±0.01%). The extracted oil was found to contain 64% saturated, 32% unsaturated and 4% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Margaric (23.74 g/100 g) and erucic acids (11.35 g/100 g) were the main saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, respectively in the seed oil. The overall results revealed that Allamanda cathartica seed oil is a potential source of plant oil alternative to the existing sources of oils.