Physicochemical Characteristics, Mineral Content and Fatty Acid Profile of Cucumeropsis mannii Naudin Seed Oil from Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

In the context of valorization of African plant resources with high nutritional potential under-exploited, this study focused on the oil Cucumeropsis mannii to assess its mineral and physicochemical characteristics, as well as its chromatographic profile. The oil extraction from C. mannii used the Soxhlet method and yielded 48.01 %. X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometry (XRF) mineralogical analysis indicated a notable oil content, specifically 0.225 % sodium and magnesium (> 0.010 %). The physico-chemical analyses revealed a refractive index of 1.4765 ± 0.04; an acid of 6 ± 0.19 mg KOH/g; a saponification of 244.6 ± 1.24 mg KOH/g and an ester index of 238.6 ± 1.59 mg KOH/g. Furthermore, the oil has an iodine index of 121.3 ± 1.14 g I2/100 g; a peroxide of 6,70 ± 1.04 Meq O2/g; a specific gravity of 0.899 ± 0.01; an unsaponifiable content of 0.34 ± 0.02 %; a pH of 6.45 ± 0.3; an ultraviolet absorbance at 270 nm of 0.23 ± 0.01 and an estimated total polyphenol content of 0.19 ± 0.02 μg GAE/mg oil. The results obtained indicate that Cucumeropsis mannii oil has characteristics compatible with valorization in human food, notably due to its oxidative stability and richness in compounds of nutritional interest. In addition, its physicochemical properties position it as a potential alternative to conventional vegetable oils such as sunflower, palm, Ackee and soy oils. This study highlights the promising prospects for exploiting this oil in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.