Characterisation of Seed Lipids from Bixa orellana and Trachyspermum copticum.

Bixa orellana L. seeds possess a resinous lipid
(6.3 %), which has a pungent and spicy odour. The seed
is known for its medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory,
antipyretic activity and as a cure for tonsilitis. Trachyspermum
copticum L. seed is a well known digestive aid
and relief from colic pain. T. copticum possesses essential
oil rich in thymol (>50 %) and lipid (15.6 %). The present
study was aimed to quantify lipid classes of these two
species by silicic acid chromatography and analyze their
fatty acid composition by gas chromatography (GC) and
gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). It was
observed that the seed lipids are rich in neutral lipids with
98.1 and 95.2 % and lower quantities of glycolipids of 1.5
and 3.8 % and phospholipids of 0.36 and 1.0 % in B. orellana
and T. copticum, respectively. The fatty acid composition
of B. orellana seed lipid showed major quantities of
palmitic (26.9 %), linoleic (26.1 %), oleic (17.5 %), linolenic
(15.1 %), stearic acid (10.8 %) and small quantities
of eicosanoic acid (3.6 %). In T. copticum seed lipids, petroselinic
acid (68.3 %) and linoleic acid (25.3 %) together
constituted 93 % of the total lipid. The results revealed
that the lipids after recovery of the essential components
namely, bixin and volatile oil from B. orellana and T. copticum,
respectively can be further explored for industrial
applications.