Characteristics of oils and nutrient contents of <i>Nigella sativa</i> Linn. and <i>Trigonella foenum-graecum</i> seeds

Abstract

The core objective of this research was to determine the oil characteristics and nutrient contents of Nigella sativa and Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds. Characteristics of seed oils revealed higher degree of unsaturation and as determined by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) reported herein the major unsaturated fatty acids were linoleic acid (52.6% in N. sativa and 42.5% in T. foenum-graecum ), followed by oleic acid (23.5% in N. sativa and 20% in T. foenum-graecum ), while the main saturated fatty acid was palmitic acid (16% in N. sativa and 10.5% in T. foenum-graecum ). Triacylglycerols and neutral lipids were found to be most abounded components recorded to 78.4 and 93.2% for N. sativa and 84.8 and 93.2% for T. foenum-graecum , respectively. The seed oils, therefore, have potential for use as domestic and industrial oils. Compositional analysis revealed that both samples contained considerable amounts of protein (20% in N. sativa and 28% in T. foenum-graecum ) and high amount of lipid (37%) in N. sativa seeds. The seeds are shown to be rich sources of potassium, calcium and sodium and other elements. Nutrient information reported herein illustrates the benefits to public health for consumers of these plant seeds. KEY WORDS : Seed oil, Fatty acids, Nutrient contents, Nigella sativa , Trigonella foenum graecum Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2012 , 26(1), 55-64. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v26i1.6