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Inter-varietal variation in the composition of Okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.) seed oil

Farooq Anwar^1,*, Umer Rashid², Zahid Mahmood¹ TAHIRA IQBAL¹ and Tufail H. Sherazi³

Abstract: The seeds from two varieties namely Sabz Pari and Punjab-8 of Okra (Hibiscus esculentus), grown under similar environment, exhibited oil content 11.72 and 13.42%, respectively. Protein, fiber, moisture and ash contents were found to be 20.00, 29.60, 7.26 and 5.18 and 23.68, 27.41, 8.35 and 6.23, respectively. The physicochemical characteristics of the extracted oils were as follows: iodine value, 111.6-114.9; refractive index (40°C), 1.4620-1.4640; density (24°C), 0.904-0.908 gcm^-3, saponification value, 180.3-185.8 (mg of KOH g^-1of oil); unsaponifiable matter, 0.61-0.65%; color (1-in. cell), 3.40-7.00 R + 34.00-70.00 Y; acid value, 3.49-4.67 (mg of KOH g^-1of oil); peroxide value, 7.29-8.47 meq kg^-1. Tocopherols (α, g and δ) contents of the oils accounted for 653.0-696.5, 2.13-3.33 and 1.01-1.11 mg kg^-1, respectively. The major fatty acids of the tested oils were: linoleic acid (29.90-31.70%), palmitic acid (29.50-31.20%), oleic acid (26.69-28.19%) and stearic acid (4.90-6.10%). A small amount of cylcopropaneoctanoic acid with contribution up to 2.0% was also established. Most of the studied parameters of Sabz Pari and Punjab-8 H.esculentus seed oils were quite comparable with those of typical Hibiscus seed oils reported in the literature.

¹Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.

²Department of Industrial Chemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad-38000, Pakistan.

³National Center of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan.