Investigation on Fatty Acid Composition of Oil Extracted from Swietenia mahagoni Seed Using Different Catalysts

Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) seed oil (MSO) was extracted by soxhlet using petroleum ether as a solvent and fatty acids composition was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) through transesterification of MSO into methyl esters of free fatty acids using 12% (1.5 M) methanolic BF3 and 0.125% methanolic H2SO4. The oil content in MSO was found to be 44.73% w/w. Palmitic, oleic, stearic, arachidic, and behenic acids were the major fatty acids and showed the same composition for both catalysts with different content. Fatty acid composition analysis reveals that MSO is non-edible due to the absence of most of the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Hence, MSO does not have enough nutrient values for human consumption, rather due to its high non-edible content, MSO has a high potentiality for utilization and development of biodiesel as eco-friendly substituent for petroleum-based fuel.

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