Characterization of Hachi (Camelus dromedarius) fat extracted from the hump Hassen Mohamed Sbihi, Imededdine Arbi Nehdi ⇑ , Saud Ibrahim Al-Resayes King Saud University, College of Science, Chemistry Department, P.O. box 2454, Riyadh 1145, Saudi Arabia article info Article history: Received 8 October 2012 Received in revised form 10 December 2012 Accepted 25 January 2013 Available online 10 February 2013 Keywords: Hachi fat Physicochemical properties Fatty acid Iodine value Thermal analysis Infrared spectroscopy 1 H NMR abstract In this work, the characteristics of fat from the hump of young camels (Hachi) were evaluated. The phys- icochemical properties of the fat were as follows: melting point, 45 °C; saponification value, 202.3 mg KOH/g oil; refractive index (60 °C), 1.468; unsaponifiable matter, 1.37%; free fatty acids (as the percent- age of oleic acid), 0.96%; and peroxide value, 3.37 mequiv. O 2 /kg oil. High-resolution 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) was used for the direct determination of the iodine value of Hachi fat (62.74 g/100 g oil). The Hachi fat was composed primarily of oleic acid (33.35%), followed by palmitic acid (26.16%), stea- ric acid (10.07%), palmitelaidic acid (9.56%) and myristic acid (8.83%). The thermal properties were assessed by thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The results of the present analytical study showed that Hachi fat could be used in food products and as an important source of bio- logical materials. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The use of animal fats by humans may well predate civilization. As the depot fats in animals are readily visible during the butcher- ing of a slaughtered animal, are easily harvested, and are available without the need for plant domestication or the adoption of estab- lished agriculture, it is probable that animal fats were the first lip- ids employed as industrial and edible lipids by humans. Lipids support multiple biological functions in the body. They serve as the structural building material of all cell and organelle mem- branes. Lipids are the most efficient fuel for living organisms, con- taining more than twice the energy content of carbohydrates and proteins on a weight basis. Animal depot lipids are used in culinary applications. These lip- ids are sometimes consumed directly, but they are more often used in such applications as baking, cooking, and deep-fat frying (Hein, Henning, & Isengard, 1998). Animal-derived lipids are also used in industrial applications, primarily in soap production (Dugan, 1987), as an energy and nutrient source in animal feeds (Ruth et al., 2010), in lubricants (Kramer, Lok, & Krug 2001), as biodiesel (Cengiz & Sehmus, 2009), and as a source of industrial fatty acids. For example, tallow is used as a food in spreads, as a frying oil, as an energy-rich component of animal feed and the oleochemical industry. Tallow derivatives are used in personal care products, cosmetics, and emulsifiers (Gunstone, 2004). Camels are a fundamental pillar of the national economy and food security in many countries in the world, especially in Asia and Africa. These animals play a critical role in providing human foods, especially meat, milk and fat. Camel fats, especially the fat in the hump, are used to prepare many dishes in different countries in Asia and North Africa. Camel hump fat is used for the production of a cocoa butter analog (Shek- archizadeh, Kadivar, Ghaziaskar, & Rezayat, 2009), for making high-quality semi-dry and dry sausages, and for frying purposes by Bedouin tribes in the Arabian desert, because it can reach high temperatures without smoking. Additionally, it is used to prepare various Saudi Arabian dishes, such as albulgman, which is the most common meal of desert inhabitants. In the present study, the fatty acid composition, physicochemi- cal properties (iodine value, free fatty acid content, saponification value, amount of unsaponifiable matter, kinematic viscosity, refractive index and peroxide value), thermal profile, IR spectrum, and 1 H NMR spectrum of Hachi (young camel) fat were deter- mined. Tallow was used for comparison. The findings of this study are important locally and internationally for evaluating whether Hachi fat may be exploited as a source of fat for nutritional, indus- trial and pharmaceutical applications. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Sample preparation Hachi (young camel) fat, taken from the hump, was collected from a retail butcher’s shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fat was 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.01.118 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 4697118; fax: +966 4675992. E-mail address: inahdi@ksu.edu.sa (I.A. Nehdi). Food Chemistry 139 (2013) 649–654 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem