Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• K. Jaimand ¹
• M.B. Rezaee ¹
• F. Sefidkon ¹
• M. Naderi ¹
• H. Keneshloo ¹
• M.Y. Achak ²
• M. Farahpour ¹
• Sh. Karimi ¹

¹ Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Tehran, Iran

² Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center of Sistan and Balochestan Province, Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

Moringa peregrine (Forssk.) Fiori is one of the species growing in tropical and desert areas and is distributed in the southeastern of the country in Hormozghan and Sistan and Balochestan provinces. Moringa peregrine is a desert shrub that can grow in areas with little rainfall, andit has a great nutritional,   pharmaceutical, environmental, industrial and economic values. This research was aimed to determination of fatty acids in Moringa peregrina seed oil from different locations in Sistan and Balochestan province in 2009. Five samples were collected from five natural research stations. The oil content was determined by the Soxhlet method. The oil content obtained from Tong Fonoj, Keneshky, Bent, Begaband, and Dorahy Chanf sations were measured to be 54.6%, 50.4%, 52.4%, 53.2%, and 53.6% respectively. According to the obtained results, fatty acids content varied as follows: oleic acid (71.5-74%), palmitic acid (12.6-14.7%), Iso-oleic acid (3.6-4.5%), palmitoleic acid (3.3-4.7%), stearic acid (1.9-2.4%), Behenic acid (0.9-1.5%), gadoleic acid (0.4-10.9%) and Arachidonic acid (0.4-1.3%). Over 90 percent of the oil consumed in the country is imported from abroad. Our results clearly indicate that due to the amount of fatty acids in Moringa peregrina seeds, this plant can be considered as a new source for the production of vegetable oil and widespread food consumption.

Keywords

• Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori
• methyl ester
• oils
• Gas chromatography
• fatty acids
• Oleic acid