Chemical properties of tomato (Lycopersicon escluntum) seed oil

Abstract

Solvent extraction of oil from tomato seeds was carried out. The extracted oil was analyzed for extract yield, quality and fatty acid composition. The results showed that the oil yield was quite appreciable (27.95%) while the
results of peroxide value was 0.133O mgg , acid value of 3.3518mgKOH/g , while iodine value was 190.52 wijs and saponification value of 185.90 mgKOH/g indicated that the oil is a semi-drying oil with five fatty acids containing both saturated and unsaturated fatty acid in substantial amounts i.e. palimtic acid (13.21%), oleic acid (22.00%), octadecadienoic acid (56.60%), arachidonic acid (2.80%) and stearic acid (5.39%). The resultsobtained further showed that tomato seed oil has good
potentials as substitute for other conventional vegetable oils that have been enjoying some degrees of popularity and acceptability in the world.