Fatty Acids, Tocopherols and Sterols of Cephalocroton cordofanus in Comparison with Sesame, Cotton, and Groundnut Oils

Cephalocroton cordofanus, a perennial much-branched shrub, is dominant in the eastern and western states of Sudan. The seeds of C. cordofanus sesame, groundnut, and cotton were compared for their oil and protein content as well as for fatty acids, tocopherols, and sterols. Fatty acids and sterols were analyzed by GC while tocopherols were analyzed by HPLC. The oil of C. cordofanus showed low levels of saturated fatty acids in comparison with the other three oils. The other reported fatty acids of C. cordofanus were 8.60 % oleic, 17.2% linoleic, 64.2% vernolic, and 2.0% coronaric acids. Neutral lipids, glycolipids, and phospholipids of C. cordofanus oil accounted for 77.5, 14.4, and 8.1% of the total lipid fraction, respectively. The oil of C. cordofanus showed higher levels of tocopherols (113.53 mg/100 g) in comparison to sesame, groundnut, and cottonseed oils, with 64.74, 27.96, and 77.83 mg/100 g, respectively. The primary tocopherol of C. cordofanus was gamma-tocopherol (106.21 mg/100 g), which amounted to 93.8% of the total tocopherols. beta- and delta-tocopherol were present at levels below 5.0 mg/100 g. In comparison to sesame, groundnut, and cottonseed oils, C. cordofanus oil contains more (304.4 mg/100 g) total sterols than ground nut (294.0 mg/100 g), but less than sesame (774.9 mg/100 g) and cotton seed (492.4) oils. Due to its high level of epoxy fatty acids, C. cordofanus oil is used for industrial rather than edible applications.