Physicochemical Properties and Fatty Acids Composition of Moringa Seed Oil Compared with Olive Oil

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the physicochemical properties of moringa seeds and assess the oil extracted from the seeds. The seeds were collected from Eldamazine in the Blue Nile state and Alsamrab north of Khartoum. The oil extracted using hexane, the color of oil examined using a Lovibond tintometer, showed red and yellow colors (0.02, 3.9) for moringa and (2.3, 31.9) for olive oil respectively. Viscosity, density, and refractive index are (23.81, 0.90, 1.472 cp) for moringa oil and (73.5, 0.91, 1.551 cp) for olive oil, respectively. Chemical characteristics of moringa and olive are free fatty acid, peroxide value, iodine value, and saponification value (0.19%, 0.49 mg O 2 /kg/oil 63.5 mg 1/kg/oil, 81.55 mg/ kg /oil, 172 mg KOH / kg oil). GLC was used to detect the fatty acid composition of moringa oil which are Palmitoleic acid (0.1860%), Palmitic acid (3.248%), Linoleic acid (0.0690%), Oleic acid (71.57%), Linolenic acid (6.725%), Stearic acid (7.127%), Arachidic acid (0.9820%), Gadoleic acid (3.842%), Behnic acid (5.973 %) and Arachidonic acid (0.2320 %). Moringa oil contained a high content of tocopherol (257 mg liter).