ARTOCARPUS METHANOL EXTRACT SEED OILS – A COMPARATIVE STUDY

In recent years, the significance of polyunsaturated fatty acids analysis has gained much attention because of their various biological activities in health and disease, especially the n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. The current proportional cram endeavors on providing qualitatively the fatty acid composition of methanol extracted seed oils of five Artocarpus species specifically Artocarpus heterophyllus, Artocarpus integrifolia, Artocarpus inscicus, Artocarpus hirsitus and Artocarpus integer. All the extracted oils were thick yellowish in colour having pungent odour with a yield of 40%. Fallouts evidently indicate that the intricate fatty acid profile was experiential for A. heterophyllus through fifteen peaks, next to that A.hirsitus by nine peaks, A.integrifolia by seven peaks and, A.inscicus seed oil had merely five peaks lastly A. integer with four peaks. Essential fatty acid 9-Octadecadienoic acid (C₁₈H₃₄O₂) and  9, 12 – Octadecadienoic acid, methyl ester (C₁₉H₃₄O₂) were found in all tested methanol seed oil free fatty acid methyl ester fractions except A. inscicus in that order. These findings demonstrated that essential oils of five Artocarpus species seeds were a complex mixture of numerous fatty acids and have great potential to be used as a source for natural health dietary products.