Physicochemical Properties and Fatty Acid Composition of Ocimum basilicum L. Seed Oil

Abstract

Ocimum basilicum has been widely used in traditional medicine. Rural communities have used fixed oils for variety purposes since a long time ago. They used for cosmetic applications, fuel, medicine and food. The aim of this study was to characterize the physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of O. basilicum seed oil. Lipids were determined by continuous extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus for 6 hours using hexane as solvent. The physicochemical properties of the oil were assessed by standard and established methods. The fatty acids composition of the seed oil was determined by GC-MS. The Pale yellow with camphor odor oil extracted from the seed has the following properties: yield, 18.01%; freezing point, -2°C; melting point, 5°C; boiling point, 215°C; refractive index (25°C), 1.48532; iodine value, 108.6 g/100 g of oil; peroxide value, 4.6 meq. O2/kg of oil; free fatty acids, 0.20%; acid value, 4.0 mg of KOH/g of oil; saponification value, 164.2 mg KOH/g of oil; unsaponifiable matter, 1.6; moisture and volatile value, 4.97 (wt%); density, 0.91372 g/cm3; viscosity, 10.29 mm2/s; specific gravity, 0.9210. Fatty acids composition showed that linolenic- (43.92%) was the major fatty acid and followed by linoleic- (32.18%), palmitic- (13.38%), stearic- (6.55%), palmitoleic- (0.78%), arachidic- (0.72%), anteisomargaric- (0.45%), nonadecylic- (0.28%), gondoic- (0.27%), margaric- (0.20%), behenic- (0.17%), heneicosylic- (0.14%), lignoceric- (0.13%) and myristic acid (0.11%). Therefore, recommended that more and advanced investigations should be undertaken for this abundant oil as natural source for many industrial applications, especially, for applications that require acids like linolenic and linoleic.

Basil Seeds as a Novel Food, Source of Nutrients and Functional Ingredients with Beneficial Properties: A Review

“…This can be explained by the inversion of LA and ALA in basil seed oil that occurs in certain species [51]. Furthermore, in Table 4, the samples from Iran [47], Canada [51], and Vietnam [30] exhibited higher amounts of ALA, while the Singapore [30], Sudan [42], and United Arab Emirate [52] samples had higher amounts of LA. These differences in the fatty acid compositions can be attributed to environmental and climatic factors; although, according to Mostafavi et al [33] and Choi et al [30], the plant genotype is the most important parameter.…”

“…Finally, in a recent study by Idris et al [42], the physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of O. basilicum seed oil were reported. It was shown that this oil can be used in countless applications due to the high content of essential fatty acid, such as LA and ALA.…”

“…Finally, O. basilicum seed gum is also used for many other purposes, such as a source of fiber, a disintegrant, a pharmaceutical excipient, a suspending agent, an anti-diabetic agent, for seedling growth, and a biodegradable edible film [42].…”

“…Moreover, fatty acids are the main nutritional components in edible oilseeds, and a growing body of evidence suggests that individual fatty acids may provide human health benefits. The incorporation of polyunsaturated (n-3) fatty acids, and essential fatty acids, such as linoleic (LA), linolenic (ALA), and arachidic fatty acids, in the diet can play a natural preventive role in cardiovascular disease and other health problems and diseases [42,54,55]. In this context, basil seeds are a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids.…”

Fatty Acid Evaluation of Seeds and Nuts by Spectroscopy and Chromatography

“…Fatty acid methyl esters needed by the industry are linolenate (ω-3), linoleate (ω-6) [5], oleate (ω-9) [6], and stearate [6][7][8]. Stearic acid or stearate is an SFA found in palm oil and sunflower [6,9], Nymphaea pubescens seeds [10], Ocimum basilicum [5], candlenut [11,12], sesame [13], Cactus opuntia dillenii [14], sacha inchi [15] and almond seeds [16]. Nymphaea pubescens seeds contain stearic acid as palm oil and peanut oil [10].…”