Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. seed oil: lipid composition assessment.

Thirty different fatty acids of various classes were extracted from the non-polar fraction of the seeds of Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. (Caesal-piniaceae). Eight among them were found to be saturated while 22 were unsaturated acids, which included nine monoenoic, five dienoic, seven trienoic and one polyenoic acid. Unsaturated fatty acids were present in a large proportion (65.76%) than the saturated ones (34.24%). Spectroscopic methods (GLC and GC-MS) were used for their characterization and identification. Hexadecadienoic acid occurred in the highest proportion (21.17%). The single polyenoic acid (tetracosapentaenoate) was rare and present in traces (0.95%).