Lipid profile and fatty acid composition of finger millet (Eleusine coracana).

Total lipids constituting 1.85-2.10% from 7 var. of finger millet (ragi, Eleusine coracana) were extracted with chloroform/methanol, purified, resolved by silicic acid column chromatography and analysed for component fatty acids. The total lipid consisted of 70-72% neutral lipids, mainly triglycerides and a small proportion of sterols, 10-12% glycolipids and 5-6% phospholipids. Proportions of lipid classes were similar in all 7 var. Chloroform-insoluble lipids constituted 8-10%. All classes of lipid contained 46-62% oleic acid, 8-27% linoleic acid, 20-35% palmitic acid, and traces of linolenic acid. Cv. within a sp. exhibited identical lipid profiles.