Nutritional properties of oils from various parts of three varieties of pears consumed in south east Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluated the nutrient properties of parts of Dacryodes edulis (DE), Persea americana (PA) and Canarium schweinfurthii (CS) oils using standard methods. Pulp oils of DE and PA had the least moisture, melting point, acid, and saponification values. Occurrence of C10-12 fatty acids was between 0 and 1.46%, and C22-26 between 0 and 4.3%. Anthocyanins, epicatechin, and ribalinidine were undetected in CS seed oils, while oils from the pulp and peels of PA showed the highest amounts for catechins (57.73μg/ml) and kaempferol (57.91μg/ml) respectively. The pulp oils contained higher amounts of Na, K, Zn, Ca, vit A and D. This study has shown that the seed oils suits industrial needs, and the pulp oils for therapeutic purposes.