Tocopherol and fatty acid composition of some Indian pulses

Abstract

AbstractThe tocopherol and tocotrienol composition of the Indian pulses Bengal gram (Cicer arietinum L.), blackgram (Vigna mungo L.), green gram (Vigna radiata L.), and horse gram (Dolichos biflorus L.) were studied. The total tocopherol content ranged from 230 to 1567 mg/100 g fat, while the tocopherol content of the pulses as a whole ranged from 6.76 to 12.54 mg/100 g seed. Presence of such a high amount of tocopherol, both in the oil fraction of Indian pulses and in an oil fraction of a food material, is being reported for the first time. The fatty acid composition of the fat extracted from these pulses showed substantial amounts of unsaturated fatty acids (Bengal gram, 88.7%; black gram, 82.9%; green gram, 64.3%; and horse gram, 66.9%). These pulses contained 3.8 to 49.1% linolenic acid in the fat.