Insights into Geographic and Temporal Variation in Fatty Acid Composition of Croton Nuts Using ATR-FTIR

Abstract

Croton megalocarpus seedcake oils from 30 different locations in south central Kenya were analyzed for their fatty acid composition using ATR-FTIR to determine the efficacy of a simple procedure for measuring initial geographic and subsequent temporal variation during five months of seed storage. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing variation in how oils in untreated nuts from different locations change during storage, and how these differences are correlated with local environments. These variations are important to forensic authentication efforts and they provide insights into ways to optimize Croton oil composition.