The composition of okra seed oil

NOTES THE

FROM THE

COMPOSITION

U. S. BUREAU

OF CI-&EMISTRY.*

OF THE OIL FROM HUBBARD SQUASH.

By Walter F. Baughman

THE

SEED

OF THE

and George S. Jamieson.

[ABSTRACT.]

expressed from squash seed by an expeller was refined OIL the well-known alkali process and bleached with fuller’s earth. The refined oil had a yellow color and a bland fatty taste. The unsaturated fatty acids. were separated from the saturated acids by the lead salt ether method and bromine addition products Analyses of these compounds gave the amounts were prepared. Methyl esters of oleic and linolic acids in the original oil. were prepared from the saturated acids and were subjected to fractional distillation under diminished pressure. From the iodine numbers and saponification values of the different fractions and the residue the amounts of unsaturated acid were calculated, the mean molecular weights of the saturated acids were found, and the weight of each saturated acid in each fraction was calculated. The Hubbard squash seed oil was found to consist of the following : Palmitic acid . . 12.73 per cent. I Stearic acid . . . . . ... 6.12 per cent. Arachidic acid . . . . 0.04 per cent. Glycerides of . . . .. ( Oleic acid . . . . . 36.58 per cent. Linolic acid . . . . . . . . . 43.34 per cent. i Unsaponifiable matter .. 1.06 per cent. by

THE

COMPOSITION

By George S. Jamieson

OF OKRA SEED OIL. and Walter F. Baughman.

[ABSTRACT.] OIL expressed from okra seed by an expeller was examined physically and chemically by the methods used for Hubbard + Communicated by the Director.

1Published in J. Am. Chem. Sot., 42, 152-7 (Jan., * Published

1~20).

in J. Am. Chcm. Sot., 42, 166-70 (Jan., 1920). 395

[J. F. I.

U. S. BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY NOTES.

396

squash o’il (see above). The oil, which amounts to about 15 per cent. of the seed, was found to have the following composition:

Glycerides

of

A CHEMICAL

..............

STUDY

(

Palmitic acid ................. Stearic acid .................. Arachidic acid ................ Oleic acid ................... Linolic acid .................. ......... Unsaponifiable matter

OF THE RIPENING CALIFORNIA OLIVES.

AND

27.23

2.75 0.05 43.74 26.62 0.37

PICKLING

per cent, per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent.

OF

By R. W. Hilts and R. S. Hollingshead. [ABSTRACT.]

THE results of an investigation of the chemical changes which occur in California olives during ripening and during pickling indicate. that the best index of maturity for olives, both fresh and pickled, is the percentage of oil in the fruit flesh. Allowance, of course, must be made for variations due to the variety of the olives and the locality in which.they are grown. A minimum oil content of 17 per cent. in the flesh is offered as a tentative standard of maturity for Mission olives and other common varieties, except the Manzanillo, Ascolano, and Sevillano. A minimum oil content of 15 per cent. is recommended as a tentative standard for Manzanillo olives. No standards for maturity are recommended for the large-fruited olives, Ascolano and Sevillano, which must be gathered when relatively immature. These olives, however, should not be sold under the designation “ ripe.” Because of the great variations noted in the composition of olives of the same variety grown in different localities, it probably will never be practicable to set definite and hard fixed minima for oil in mature olives, and the proposed standards must be applied with caution. It was found that some of the abuses, the report of which led to this investigation, did exist, immature olives having often been pickled and colored to simulate pickled ripe olives. The data given in the bulletin will make possible the detection of gross frauds of this nature. ’ Dept.

Agr.

Bull.

803 (Jan.

24,

1920).