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Introduction. This paper provides the complete profile of physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of local castor varieties from Sindh, Pakistan. Initially, physical characteristics of seeds were studied followed by detailed examination of oil. Materials and methods. Oil was extracted through Soxhlet extraction method followed by physico-chemical examination of necessary parameters (iodine value, peroxide value, saponification value, viscosity and moisture). For qualitative analysis of castor oil GCMS and FTIR instruments were used. Results and discussions. Oil content was observed in the range of 44-48%. Moisture and ash content of castor seeds were found to be 4.22-5.16% and 5.66-6.49%, respectively. Compositional analysis by GCMS has shown ricinoleic acid (88.5-93.1%) as a prominent fatty acid in all local varieties. Other fatty acids present were palmitic (0.4-0.8%), stearic (0.8-1.0%), linoleic (2.8-3.3%), and ecosenoic (0.2-1.5%). Free fatty acid value of all castor oil varieties was found to be in the range of 0.16-0.53%. Other quality parameters such as IV, PV and SV of different castor oil varieties were determined in the range of 79.16-90.03 gI2/100g, 1.62-1.89 meq/Kg, and 188.12-204.76 mgKOH/g, respectively. The FTIR spectra of castor seed oil varieties were nearly similar. On careful examination of the intensity values of each functional group present in the oil showed some variations in castor seed varieties. Conclusion. Indigenous local varieties of castor with sufficient oil content (> 40%) were explored and examined for some important parameters. FTIR band intensities of some functional groups highly correlated with important parameters of castor oil.

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