Chemical Characterization and Oxidative Stability of Medium- and Long-Chain Fatty Acid Profiles in Tree-Borne Seed Oils

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate chemical characteristics and oxidative stability of tree-borne seed oils. A total of 15 different fatty acids were identified in six tree-borne seed oils, which included seven types of saturated fatty acids, four types of monounsaturated fatty acids, and four types of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Japanese camphor tree (JCT) had a high content of medium-chain fatty acids (97.94 +/- 0.04%), in which fatty acid composition was distinct from those of the other five plant seed oils. Overall, contents of tocopherols, a type of fat-soluble vitamin, ranged between 3.82 +/- 0.04 mg/100 g and 101.98 +/- 1.34 mg/100 g, respectively. Phytosterol contents ranged from 117.77 +/- 1.32 mg/100 g to 479.45 +/- 4.27 mg/100 g, respectively. Of all tree-borne seed oils, beta-sitosterol was the phytosterol at the highest concentration. Contents of unsaponifiables were between 0.13 +/- 0.08 and 2.01 +/- 0.02, and values of acid, peroxide, and p-anisidine were between 0.79 +/- 0.01 and 38.94 +/- 0.24 mg KOH/g, 3.53 +/- 0.21 and 127.67 +/- 1.79 meq/kg, and 2.07 +/- 0.51 and 9.67 +/- 0.25, respectively. Oxidative stability of tree-borne seed oils was assessed through measurement of oxidation-induction periods. These results should serve as a foundation to identify the potential of tree-borne seed oils in industrial application as well as in providing fundamental data.