Guava (Psidium guajava) Oil

Abstract

The composition and functionality of guava (Psidium guajava) seed oil are reported in this chapter. Guava seed oil was extracted using a Soxhlet apparatus to determine the fatty acid composition of the oil. The oil content of seed on the dry weight basis was 11.1%. The iodine value, acid value, free fatty acid, peroxide value and saponification value were 120.55 g of I2/100 g oil, 3.74 g/100 g oil, 1.86 g/100 g oil, 4.13 meq/kg oil, and 190.74 mg/100 g of oil, respectively. The fatty acid composition was analyzed using Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The FT-IR spectrum indicates the presence of functional groups related to saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The results from GC-MS revealed the presence of total 18 fatty acids including 12 saturated and 6 unsaturated fatty acids. The linoleic (60.0%), palmitic (14.8%), oleic (12.5%), stearic (9.08%), and arachidic (1.31%) were the major fatty acids. GC-MS results indicated that guava seed oil is a good source of essential fatty acids. The chemical composition of essential oil was also determined in fruits, seeds and leaves of Psidium guajava by hydrodistillation method using GC-MS. The identified essential oils components are bioactive and have many biological potential applications.